Sweet Revenge
by All toasters toast toast
Summary: Its been a year since the haunted mansion incident. The Boos have escaped and King Boo has kidnapped Luigi for revenge. What's in store for the green hero? *Completed*
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! This story is the result of finishing Gamecube Luigi's Mansion in two afternoons while feeling extra creative at the same time haha. This is my first story ever. Reviews are appreciated. Enjoy!**

 **...**

Luigi flicked the rim of his hat upwards so the cap rested nicely on the top of his head. It was a quiet afternoon in Luigi's house and he was spending some time relaxing in the back-yard reminiscing about the past. It's been a little over a year since the haunted mansion incident and to be honest, he missed the excitement. Sure, he was scared out of his mind and probably a step away from a heart attack whenever a boss ghost would show up, but after it was all over and Mario was safe, he realized the experience gave him a thrill. After the ordeal, Luigi made sure to keep in touch with Professor E. Gadd; the professor came over every now and then to have him test new inventions. Working with the prof. always kept things interesting.

 ** _RING RING RING!_**

Luigi reached into his left pocket. Speaking of which, that was the prof. calling him now. Luigi picked up the phone.

 _"Hello. It's Luigi"_

 _"Luigi my boy, I have some urgent distressing news. The Boos! I don't have the conclusion to how, but they have escaped. Every last one of them gone including King Boo!"_

 _"Mama Mia! What are we going to do?!"_

 _"Now don't lose heart Luigi. Report to the lab as soon as possible. We need to hook you up with the Poltergust 5000 and start tracking them as soon as possible. Who knows what kind of mayhem they are already up to."_

 _"Will do professor. I'll be over as soon as I can."_

 _"Good lad. See you soon. E. Gadd out."_

Luigi sighed out loud. He probably just jinxed himself; you get what you wish for. He just hoped it would be simpler than last time, he wasn't ready to see Bowser's head on backwards again. He felt a shiver go through his body; that image still gave him nightmares. Luigi walked back into his house, ate a quick sandwich, and then packed a bag full of snacks for both him and E. Gadd. It would come in handy because they were probably going to be working on a plan all night. Luigi opened the door to leave and stepped outside. What he didn't expect was to bump into someone on his door step and what he definitely didn't expect was the said person happened to be-

 _"Bowser?!" Dang the universe must have it out for him today._

 _"You do realize Mario lives down the street, right?"_

 _" **Uh yeah, but I'm not here to fight him today."** Bowser seemed off..._

 _"Uh Bowser are you feeling ok?"_

 _" **I feel great!"**_

 _"Uhm then if you don't mind me asking, what brings you here?"_

 _A toothy grin spread across his face._

 _" **REVENGE!"**_

Suddenly Bowser's head lifted off revealing none other than King Boo. Luigi jumped back in surprise. The green hero didn't have the legendary vacuum with him, he was in trouble. Bowser's head began floating around shooting ice while the king had a smug look on his face. The front door froze to his left, a vase became an icicle to his right. Luigi was dodging the best he could, but alas the ice inevitably hit him and he became frozen in a block of ice. As hard as he struggled, Luigi could not escape the ice block. This would have been much easier if he had the heat of the vacuum on his back. He felt his limbs slowly go numb with cold, his mind beginning to go numb with it. If he didn't get out of there now, Luigi was sure he was going to die there. With the last of his strength he managed to finally break free. He took a wobbly step out of the pile of ice shards before passing out on the lawn. The last thing he heard was King Boo cackling and monologuing something about " _foolish humans"_ before everything went black.

King Boo looked at the unconscious plumber on the ground. This was too easy! The element of surprise had served him well. He had been planning this since the day he had been imprisoned in that awful painting. A year really gives someone time to think. Oh, so many ways to make Luigi pay and then he could finish the job by finally trapping him in a painting. Now that's fine art. King Boo gave off a signature Boo laugh then proceeded to pick up the limp form of Luigi and flew off with him to the new location of a rebuilt haunted mansion.

Professor E. Gadd checked his watch. His young green friend should have arrived a while ago. Luigi was never known to be late and this situation was urgent no less. E. Gadd had a bad feeling about this and each passing minute without Luigi turning up was fueling his uneasiness. The professor shuffled through his lab coat pockets until he found what he was looking for...a _Gameboy horror_. He decided that he would give Luigi a call to see what was keeping him. The line rang and rang, but Luigi didn't pick up. The professor felt his stomach drop, something was wrong. Luigi always picked up the phone; even that one time at three in the morning he still picked up. E. Gadd let out a nervous sigh. He strategically decided to wait ten minutes before trying to call Luigi again. Those ten minutes went by agonizingly slow. Countless scenarios went through his head on what could be happening right now, almost none of them were good. Finally, the ten minutes were up and the professor pressed the call button. Unfortunately, he came up with the same result. If Luigi had not answered by now he was positive that the lad had been met with some sort of predicament. Deciding on bringing the Poltergust 5000 with him, E. Gadd set out for Luigi's house. He hoped to himself that his hunch was wrong and that Luigi would still be in one piece.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 Mwahaha enjoy!**

 **...**

E. Gadd was jogging to Luigi's house, Poltergust 5000 bouncing on his back as he took each step. Sweat was dripping down the professor's back making his shirt and lab coat cling to his skin. The equipment was heavy and he was getting too old for this. He could barely see the roof of Luigi's house from down the street. The professor decided to pick up the pace. The closer he got to the building, the more he could see that the house had seen better days. The lawn looked like a blizzard had gone through it, which was abnormal considering it was the middle of July. Giant chunks of ice were scattered everywhere. The front door was frozen shut. Good that he had use of the fire element. The professor made short work of the ice using the fire function on the vacuum. The door was unlocked and swung open with a loud squeak. E. Gadd mused that he had an invention to fix that; he would have to bring that up with Luigi later. The professor shook his head and reprimanded himself, he shouldn't be thinking about inventions right now. Luigi was most likely in dire danger and he needed to focus on finding him. The inventor conducted a thorough search of the inside of the house. The inside search came up empty, so that confirmed that the front yard was the only area of the crime scene. E. Gadd began searching the yard for clues. He had to work fast; the melting ice would likely start washing away clues. One thing of interest found during the search were a trail of large footprints towards the front of the house. The professor took into account that Luigi could have just had a very large visitor earlier, but these footprints seemed odd. For a creature so big, the footprints should have been much deeper. This question plagued him until he caught a glimpse of a small puddle of goo on the outer rim of one of the footprints. E. Gadd crouched down and examined the substance. He felt the thick liquid between his fingers. It was a solid match for ectoplasm. The inventor let out a worried sigh. The presence of ectoplasm had just confirmed his theories. The Boos or at least a Boo was here. The current question was where could they be now? Tracking the Boos is going to be a lot of work. He was going to need some aid in the search. Perhaps Luigi's older brother would be of some assistance.

…

King Boo looked down upon the sleeping form of the hero. The Boo had arrived with Luigi at the mansion a little over an hour ago and he was getting bored. It's kind of hard to get revenge when the person won't wake up. The King let out a puff of air. Waiting was so boring; he was going to do something now! King Boo stared at Luigi for a second before a sly idea struck him. He had always wanted to see what Luigi looked like without a mustache. With a wide smile, he flew through the wall and headed towards the nearest bathroom. King Boo shuffled through the cabinets, struggling to find what he was looking for. _Come on there should be one here_. Eventually he found it, a straight razor. It was in pretty good condition too, not old and dusty like the rest of the mansion. This would do nicely. The king flew through walls back to a still sleeping Luigi. The Boo cackled in glee as he lifted the razor blade towards Luigi's mustache. The hair was somewhat hard to cut through; it was thicker than he thought. The hair began to fall in nicely shaped clumps. King Boo looked down at the fallen hair. It had somehow managed to keep its perfect mustache shape. Heck if he wanted to, he could wear it and pass it off as his own mustache. The king snapped out of his thoughts. It was time for the moment of truth. King Boo slowly looked towards Luigi's face. He looked…exactly the same? _What the heck!?_ His mustache was back and the same as before! The king cut it off again and before he could see Luigi's face without hair, the mustache was back. _This is impossible!_ He cut it again and again, but the facial hair always came back. It was freaky, almost as if Luigi's body was _programed_ to have it. Now the king was stuck with no progress and a bunch of extra mustaches. _Seriously, what the hell was he going to do with all of these mustaches?!_ Perhaps he could send one to Mario and make it look like he had finished off Luigi; the look on his face would be priceless. Or maybe his subjects could make use out of them; there were more than enough mustaches to go around. King Boo cringed at the thought of the fashion trend he might accidentally start. With so many mustaches, keeping one for himself couldn't hurt. He briefly wondered what he himself would look like wearing one. Curiosity got the best of him as he slowly lifted one up to his face. The king rushed over to the mirror and peered at his reflection. He didn't look half bad. He let out a cackle as he made different faces in the mirror. The king stopped when he heard the sound of shuffling behind him. King Boo quickly turned around to see Luigi sitting up and staring at him with wide eyes.

…

Luigi woke up in bed feeling out of it. He didn't remember going to bed and falling asleep. A swift cool breeze from the window made him shiver. Luigi shifted to get up to shut the window when he noticed, one this wasn't his house, and two King Boo was in the far corner wearing… _wait was that his mustache?!_ The king gave him an almost shocked look as if he were a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar before quickly disappearing with a poof. Luigi gasped as the events from earlier finally rushed back to him. Flashbacks of Bowser and King Boo gradually connecting the dots in his mind. It all made sense now. Luigi realized grimly that he had been captured by King Boo.

" _Mama mia!_ "

Luigi looked around and took in his surroundings. He appeared to be on the bed in the master bedroom of the pervious haunted mansion. The more he thought about it the more confused he became. Didn't the mansion disappear? How was it back? The same goes for the Boos; they were supposed to be in their paintings. E. Gadd said they escaped, but how? Another breeze sent a shiver down Luigi's spine. He then slid off the bed and pulled the curtain over the broken window to stop the draft. Luigi knew he had to try to escape before the king came back.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: haha last chaper was kinda crackish.**

 **...**

Luigi paced back and forth. He didn't know why the king Boo suddenly disappeared, but he was going to use it to his advantage. He had two methods of escaping. One, he could climb out the window. He would only use that option if he was truly desperate. The sharp broken glass and the fact that the room was on the second floor deterred him from it. He didn't feel like getting cut and potentially falling to his death today. That left the second option trying the door. To his surprise, the door was unlocked. Luigi cautiously surveyed the hallway. The whole place was dark. If the creepy music was anything to go off of, the place was filled with ghosts. Without a flashlight and the Poltergust 5000, this was going to be difficult. Luigi figured that he could just try to run for it. He did the same thing last time when the power went out. Good thing that the room was close to the front door. All he would have to do was sprint down the hallway cut through the foyer and he would be home free. Time was ticking.

 _It's now or never_

Luigi sprinted down the hallway as fast and as quietly as he could. He was overjoyed when the door to the foyer was also unlocked. All he had to do now was run down the stairs and leave through the front door. Luigi heard a few ghostly laughs come from somewhere in the room. A ghost or two were likely following him. It wouldn't matter if he could get out the front door on time. Luigi pulled the extravagant door knob on the front door only to find out the hard way it was a fake door. He peeled himself off the wall. The impact from the door did a number on him, but he was more shocked than anything else.

 _What kind of cruel joke was this?!_

The front door was gone. Luigi racked his brain for a solution. The next closest exit was the courtyard, but that was all the way on the other side of the mansion. He wasn't sure he would live to make it that far, it was worth a shot though. A few Gold Ghosts appeared in the corner and started heading towards Luigi. In a normal situation with the vacuum, Luigi wouldn't have batted an eye, but he was vacuum-less now and if he wasn't careful this would go bad quickly. Luigi did the only thing he could do at the moment, run. He ran straight through the _area two_ doors trying to get to the courtyard while being chased by a growing number of ghosts.

…

King Boo poofed into the next room. He was planning to scare Luigi right off the bat and have a grand terrifying entrance. Those plans got thwarted by getting distracted and wearing a simple mustache. The king admitted that boredom makes you do crazy things. He could still make his grand entrance, he would just have to wait for the right timing to terrorize the foolish human. Speaking of foolish humans, King Boo heard the squeak of the door next-door opening. That should be Luigi, right on schedule. The green plumber was too predictable. He had prepared well in advance for this. For now, the king would let the ghosts of the mansion have their fun.

…

Luigi sprinted through the hallway not daring to look back. The crowd chasing him had grown considerably larger since he had entered _area two_. Time went by incredibly slow as Luigi searched for the hallway he needed to turn on. The corner finally came into view. He quickly turned around the corner, kicking up dust from the carpet as he ran. He could see the door to the courtyard at the end of the hallway. He was almost there when a Purple Bomber ghost appeared from the ceiling and with a laugh, dropped an industrial sized bomb on him. The blast sent Luigi flying into the wall. The impact dazed him enough to let the crowd of mischievous ghosts catch up with him. There was nowhere to run now, he had managed to get surrounded. His small bubble of personal space grew smaller and smaller until it was nonexistent and the ghosts were on him. If ghosts were good at anything, it was holding a grudge. Luigi definitely felt that as he was being grabbed and punched from every direction. Three Grabber ghosts grabbed him from behind and began squeezing the life out of him, while at the same time Purple Punchers were taking turns wailing hits on him. Other types of ghosts joined the fray, but Luigi didn't focus on that. It didn't take a genius to tell that his health was rapidly decreasing. It wouldn't be much longer before his health would drop to dangerously low levels. If Luigi were to die today he at least wished it would be in a cooler way or at least by the hand of a higher-level ghost. Luigi shook off the grabber ghosts, he needed to stop thinking like the fight was lost. He was going to live through this! He started dodging ghosts as well as he could with the limited room careful to avoid touching them. With his health still decreasing, Luigi inched his way towards the courtyard door. The doorknob was almost in reach. Only a few more centimeters and… _Yes!_ Luigi turned the doorknob as quickly as he could. The door opened with a high-pitched squeak. He looked back at the ghosts that were previously attacking him. They all had looks of horror on their faces. That says something considering that they are already dead. Luigi swelled with pride until he noticed that the ghosts weren't looking at him, they were looking past him. Luigi gulped as he realized there was someone behind him right outside the door. He slowly turned around. Luigi asked for at least a higher-level ghost and he certainly got one now. Luigi trembled as he stood face to face with none other than the king himself.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

King Boo looked down at Luigi. The look of sheer terror on the plumber's face was priceless. He wished he could save that look in a painting. The king smiled a bit wider, he would do just that soon enough. Luigi's shaking was only adding to the king's glee. The king smiled impossibly wider before speaking.

" _Are you scared yet Luigi? I've been waiting for this moment far too long. Today is the day that you get taken down a peg pathetic plumber… Let's get started, shall we?"_

The room started to spin. King Boo watched in amusement as Luigi gasped and tried to take a few steps back. The plumber's attempt at escape was futile. Luigi shrieked as he was sucked into the vortex.

…

Luigi looked around; the vortex appeared to have taken them to the roof. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He looked up at King Boo. The king wore a ginormous smirk on his face. His fangs glinted dangerously in the light; Luigi could almost see his own reflection in the pointed teeth. The king then tossed Luigi a much-needed heart and a flashlight? Luigi used the heart immediately, grateful that he was now up to half health. Luigi the felt King Boo get uncomfortably close to his ear. He held his breath as the king whispered-

" _Now let the games begin."_

He almost jumped out of his skin when the king let out a laugh that seemed to promise infinite pain before disappearing out of sight. Luigi picked up the flashlight not wanting to accept what he knew he had to do next. Because of his current location, he would have to navigate the entire mansion with nothing to defend himself with except the flashlight. Luigi checked the flashlight's batteries. He didn't want to play the Boo's game, but it was his only chance of making it downstairs and hopefully getting out of here. Luigi shivered signaling that another ghost had just entered the scene; that was his cue to go. Luigi headed towards the chimney on his left. He knew that it would take him downstairs to the clockwork room. It would become the first stop on his chaotic and dangerous run through the mansion. Not wanting to waste any more time, Luigi climbed into the chimney and began his descent to the clockwork room. Luigi took a quick survey of the clockwork room; the place was filled with obnoxious clocks as usual. What struck him as odd was that he didn't see any of the clockwork soldiers. Luigi stroked his mustache. Now that he thought about it, he didn't recall seeing any of the portrait ghosts. Hopefully they were all still in their paintings back at the lab. If the portrait ghosts weren't here, that would work to his advantage. Less ghosts to fight would mean he could get out of here quicker. Suddenly all the clocks went off at once scaring Luigi out of his thoughts and making him let out a short scream. Luigi flashed the flashlight around wildly. He let out a sigh of relief thankful when he didn't see any ghosts. Not wanting to stick around, Luigi dashed through the door to the next room. This room was the telephone room. The plumber did a mental leap of joy when he saw that the phones were functioning. Luigi picked up the phone; he was going to call the professor. Luigi reached out to dial the number and paused. He didn't know the professor's number by heart. He usually communicated with the prof. using the Gameboy Horror. Luigi's eyes widened as he remembered about the Gameboy Horror. Luigi reached into his left pocket. The device was… gone? Luigi rapidly started patting down all his clothes and checking his pockets. He didn't feel the square shape of the device anywhere. He had no idea where the Gameboy Horror could be. It was possible that he could have dropped it somewhere in the mansion, but he wouldn't know where to even start looking. He would have to do without it. Luigi picked up the phone again and decided to dial the one number he absolutely knew by heart, his brother's.

…

Mario sat inside his house drinking a cold glass of lemonade. He lifted the cup up to his forehead, the cool glass feeling fantastic on his skin. He had just spent the last two hours outside playing a one on one tennis match with Peach. When it came to sports, Peach was brutal and let's just say Mario had lost this game badly. Peach walked into the room, her tennis bag on her shoulder, the victorious smirk never leaving her face. She had some castle things to attend to and was about to head home. She looked like she was about to say something when a frantic knock at the door interrupted her. Mario sprang up from his chair and went to go answer the door. The door opened to reveal an old man? Wait. It took a second before he recognized him as the scientist that Luigi likes to hang out with.

 _What was his name? Professor something. B. Jad? C. Mad? V. Kadd? No Wait. Was it E. Gadd? That sounded correct. But what is he doing here?_

" _Hi. uhm what brings you here professor?"_

" _Your brother. He is in serious danger and I would greatly appreciate your assistance in finding him."_

" _Huh? Is this some sort of prank?"_

" _No. I assure you that this is serious. This is about the escaped Boos."_

" _The Boos? But you guys got rid of them. Tell Luigi this isn't funny. He's waiting around the corner trying to scare me again isn't he?"_

The phone started to ring in the far corner. Mario saw Peach pick it up out of the corner of his eye. Peach answered the phone.

" _Hello?"_

" _Peach it's Luigi. This is urgent. Is Mario around?"_

" _Oh, hey Luigi. Yeah Mario's around. He's currently talking to some old man at the door. He might take a minute."_ She heard Luigi gasp on the other side of the Line.

" _Peach is this old man wearing large round glasses and a lab coat?"_

" _Yeah, he matches your description. How did you know?"_

" _I'll explain later. Can you put him on the phone?"_

" _Ok sure"_

Peach motioned to the Professor. " _It's for you, it's Luigi."_

Mario stepped aside and let the professor in. The professor ran across the room, graciously accepted the phone from Peach, and hurriedly answered the phone.

" _Luigi my boy. What happened? where are you?"_

" _Professor am I glad to talk to you. King Boo happened! The mansion! It's back and I'm trapped here!"_ He sounded pretty shaken up.

" _Luigi are you alright lad?"_

" _Could be better. I'm alright for now, but I'm not sure for how much longer."_ Luigi's voice suddenly became a bit more panicked.

" _Do you have the Gameboy Horror with you?"_

" _No. I lost it somewhere. I think- AAH! STAY BACK! NO!-"_ The line cut off.

" _Luigi?... Luigi?!...LUIGI!"_

Luigi's end of the line remained silent. If Mario wasn't intrigued and slightly worried before, he certainly was now. He was able to hear the entire call. Luigi sounded genuinely scared. It was at that moment Mario realized that this wasn't one of his brother's stupid pranks.

"What was that about?! Where's my Brother?!"

"I'll tell you everything on the way. We must get back to the lab and start tracking them if you want to see your brother again alive."

Mario gulped, just what has his brother gotten himself into.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

Mario sat in a chair in the professor's lab processing all the information E. Gadd had just given him.

" _So, you're telling me that maniac took my brother?!"_

" _Yes, I'm afraid so"_

" _Well what are we going to do?!"_

" _Don't lose heart lad; Luigi gave us a key clue that should aid us in finding him."_

" _Eh?"_

" _The Gameboy Horror. Your brother said he lost it; that statement implies that he had it with him at some point, which means that the probability that the device is still in close proximity to him is high."_ Mario scratched his head.

" _Can you repeat that?"_

" _We can track Luigi's device to lead us to general location of the mansion."_

" _Oh. Why didn't you say so! Let's get going then."_ Mario turned to head out the door.

" _Wait Mario. We can't leave yet. You haven't been trained to use the vacuum."_

" _The vacuum?"_ he said with an incredulous look on his face.

" _Yes, the vacuum. You can't just waltz in there with nothing but mushrooms and expect to be able to rescue your brother."_

The professor motioned for Mario to follow and started walking further into the lab. Mario gazed at all the inventions in awe. From the outside the lab looked like a tiny shack, but on the inside, it was huge! Maybe later he should ask the professor on how he manages his space. The professor walked up to a large glass case and unlocked it. Inside were two normal looking vacuums. E. Gadd pulled one of them out and held it up proudly for Mario to see.

" _This here is the Poltergust 5000. This is the vacuum you are going to be using to catch ghosts in the mansion."_ Mario was shocked. It looked like a normal vacuum. Was it really qualified for catching ghosts? Maybe the old man was a bit crazier than he thought. Mario didn't say anything as the professor helped him put it on and strapped it to his back. He then gestured to the other vacuum.

" _That one is the Poltergust 3000. That vacuum was the one that your brother used to rescue you last year. I will be using that one. The one currently on your back is the new upgraded version of the vacuum. Luigi helped me design and test the prototypes, so this should be much easier to use. If you want a chance at getting your brother back, you are going to have to master the vacuum as soon as possible."_ Mario smirked.

" _No problem. It's just a vacuum. How hard can it be?"_

Mario cracked his knuckles and flipped a switch on the vacuum; the vacuum roared to life. Not expecting much force to be able to come from such a small machine, Mario held onto the hose very loosely. The sheer power of the machine caught him off guard and caused him to drop the hose. The vacuum hose then flew around wildly sucking up anything that happened to be in its path. Unfortunately, Professor E. Gadd happened to be in that path. The hose head had caught the edge of the professor's lab coat and quickly started pulling him in. In two seconds flat, only the man's head and shoulders were visible sticking out of the hose head. Mario panicked as the professor shouted instructions at him.

" _HIT THE SWITCH AGAIN!"_

" _AAAAH WHICH ONE?"_

" _THE ONE ON YOUR RIGHT! ITS GREY!"_

" _THIS ONE?!"_ Mario pressed it.

" _WAIT NOT THAT ON- "_

The vacuum switched into reverse and shot the professor at a breakneck speed across the room into a pile of boxes. The boxes came down with a thundering crash. If this were a game of bowling, he would have had a strike. E. Gadd got up looking a bit dizzy. Mario could almost see the little stars going in circles around the man's head. E. Gadd walked over, caught the hose before it caused more damage, and turned it off. Mario felt incredibly guilty. Maybe he should have asked the old man how to use the machine before pressing buttons. On the bright side, any doubts he had about the vacuum were now long gone. Well live and learn. Hopefully he would learn how to master the vacuum quickly.

 **…...**

King Boo floated around the mansion watching Luigi from above. Watching someone run for their life sure was entertaining; he should do this more often. The king laughed, it was fun watching him run from room to room only able to slightly stun the ghosts that were after him. This kind of entertainment deserved popcorn. King Boo passed through the wall to start heading to the kitchen; he was going to get himself that popcorn. On the way, the king passed through the telephone room. The king looked at the phones with a disapproving look. He should have remembered to cut the phone lines before letting Luigi go on the run. King Boo knew Luigi was able to briefly contact someone and he had a good idea he knew who it was. That meant he was guaranteed to receive some unwanted guests in the mansion sooner or later. The king shrugged it off, they were all just pawns in his little game anyway. He continued to fly in the general direction of the kitchen when-

 _BEEP!_ _BEEP!_

What was that? King Boo stopped and slowly flew backwards. He passed through the wall again.

 _BEEP!_

There it was again. The beep continued. Seriously what was that noise? The King flew around the room. The beep started becoming more frequent. He finally spotted the culprit, a small square shaped box on the floor underneath the table. The King zoned in on it; the closer he got to it, the quicker the beeping became. _Damn that's annoying_. He picked it up and flipped it over, it appeared to be some sort of handheld device. King Boo examined the it; it looked futuristic compared to the other stuff in the mansion. It had several types of buttons and a screen with the words Gameboy Horror written proudly underneath it. With his curiosity peaked, the king started pressing buttons; maybe there was a way to stop the now high-pitched whine coming from the machine. So far, he had only managed to find the camera and a map. He looked at the map and started looking at the layout of rooms on the separate floors. He noted that none of the fake doors in the mansion appeared on the map and that an icon of Luigi's head was bouncing above the room? Well that solved who it belonged to. King Boo cringed, that high-pitched noise was getting on his nerves. If he had ears, they would probably be bleeding. He picked up the Gameboy Horror with the intention of smashing it to bits on the floor. The king paused mid swing; if this device was Luigi's, then perhaps it could be of some use to him. He wasn't sure what he would use it for yet, but he would think of something. _But seriously, the thing was annoying_. The king made sure he would keep the device locked in a box somewhere where he couldn't hear it.

 **...**

Luigi slumped against the wall in the hall panting heavily. A bunch of ghosts suddenly surprised him while he was on the phone. He didn't even hear them until they were right on him. Hopefully the professor would know what to do about this situation. Luigi would have tried to call them again, but those damned ghosts managed to rip apart the phone lines. Luigi finally caught his breath and looked around, the hallway he was in was unusually quiet. Usually someone would be chasing him by now, but he was grateful that wasn't the case. Either way Luigi deemed it time to get moving again. Luigi started walking down the hallway; he didn't have the map with him, but he knew the mansion well enough to know that the door at the end of the hall would lead to the balcony. Luigi felt a chill as he remembered fighting Boolossus on the balcony. That was a frustrating battle, the last few Boos took _forever_ to catch. Luigi was glad that he hadn't seen any of the other Boos so far. Dealing with the king was bad enough, he didn't need to deal with them too. Luigi had reached the end of the hall and stood in front of the door to the balcony. He turned the doorknob and opened the door. Luigi was met with about fifty pairs of eyes. _Dang! He really needed to stop jinxing himself._

" _Oh ho! It's Luigi! Look guys! Luigi's finally here!"_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

E. Gadd sat watching the computer screen; the screen displayed the infamous loading symbol, it had been doing this for the past half hour. The professor sighed and took a sip of his now cold coffee, he knew it would take a while. The computer was busy trying to link onto the signal of Luigi's Gameboy Horror. Tracking the device usually wasn't a problem from nearby, but from a greater distance it was difficult to catch a signal. The professor got up to refill his drink when he heard the grunts and angered yells of Mario echoing through the vents. The lad had been downstairs in the training room for a while now and judging by his shouts, it doesn't seem like he has made much progress. E. Gadd lightly chuckled, Luigi and Mario were so different. The only things he could say they had in common were their clothes and heroic nature. Besides that, they appeared to be polar opposites, Luigi thinks about his actions and can be a bit dramatic at times. While on the other hand, Mario rushes into things without thinking and has an ego the size of the moon. More angered grunts brought the professor out of his thoughts. He wished Mario would act a little more like his younger brother and have patience with learning to use the vacuum. He couldn't blame him though for feeling he need to rush, his brother was in trouble with who knows what happening to him right now. The professor's thoughts moved toward Luigi; he hoped his young friend was faring well. The mansion is a dangerous place, even more so when you are defenseless. E. Gadd took another sip of his coffee, a light beeping sound started coming from the computer. He rushed over, the computer just finished loading and now displayed a map with a bright green dot showing the Gameboy Horrors location. The dot was all the way on the other side of the kingdom! The professor adjusted his glasses, the dot was on the move. He continued to watch the dot. Wherever it was heading, the signal was getting fainter. The professor watched the screen for a few more seconds before making the decision. If they wanted to reach the location before it lost signal completely, they would need to start moving now.

…..

Mario stood in a ready stance with the vacuum hose clutched tightly in his hands. A ghost appeared from a trapdoor in the floor and floated towards him. After this, he was never going to make fun of Luigi about this again. Catching ghosts was surprisingly difficult. The ghosts had Mario cornered before he was finally able to catch his first one. Now he was slightly better at catching them, but it was still a pain in the butt. This was like nothing he had ever done before. Mario heard footsteps coming down the stairs. The door opened revealing the professor with a serious look on his face.

" _I have traced Luigi's device. However, the connection… its unstable so if we want to find the mansion before we lose the signal, we must get going now. I know your training has been rough, but you are going to have to be ready."_ Mario had been secretly dreading this moment, but he pushed a confident grin on to his face.

" _Nothing like on the job training."_ Afraid or not, he wasn't going to let that ghost keep his brother.

Mario adjusted the vacuum on his back and followed the old man upstairs. When he got up the stairs, he saw that the professor had already put the other vacuum on his back and was currently looking at the gps signal from his Gameboy Horror. He told Mario to eat something quickly before they headed out. Mario scarfed down a couple of sandwiches and a mushroom then went to meet the professor outside. The professor stood out in front of the lab with a very old-fashioned looking car. The car didn't look completely old fashioned though. It had some modern components to it. Mario could only assume that the old man added the modifications himself. The professor handed Mario the keys and hopped in the passenger seat to connect the Gameboy Horror to the gps system. Mario sat down in the driver's seat awaiting instructions. He looked down at the inventor, he was busy fiddling with a bundle of wires from the car and tying select ones to the wires of the Gameboy. Eventually a large screen on the dashboard came to life and displayed the image of the downloaded map. The professor gave the go and the duo took off driving towards the weakening signal and the haunted mansion.

…..

Luigi tried to shut the door, but he was swarmed by the boos and pushed to the center of the balcony. The boos circled him forming an almost tornado while they spat their usual bad puns and insults at him. Luigi looked all around, he couldn't see anything past the wall of Boos around him. Suddenly the swarm dissipated. He screamed when he unexpectedly found himself fifty feet in the air. The group of boos holding him up all laughed together and dropped him. Luigi plummeted yelling and reaching out for anything to stop his fall. The wind whipped passed his face and lifted the hat off his head. He could see his hat floating away out of the corner of his eye. He looked down again; the balcony was approaching fast and a fall from this height would no doubt be enough to end him. He closed his eyes and prepared for the impact. A few seconds passed and he felt nothing. The plumber cautiously opened his eyes. His face was about two inches from the floor. A small group of Boos were holding him by the back of his overalls. They all looked at his terrified faced and laughed harder than before. They let go of Luigi's overalls and the plumber hit the floor face first. Luigi sat up rubbing his sore nose. The Boos descended around him again still recovering from their fit of laughter.

" _Luigi play a game with us!"_

" _Hide and seek!"_

" _It'll be fun"_

" _Unless you're too chicken"_ Luigi sighed

" _ **What do I have to do?"**_

" _Easy! We hide you seek! All fifty of us will be hiding around the upper floors."_

" _You have one hour to find us all."_

" _If you lose, we take you back to the roof."_ Luigi paused and went over his options.

" **And what happens if I win?"**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

Luigi watched as the Boos formed a team huddle on the far side of the balcony. He could barely hear their whispers as they spoke and alternated taking quick glances back at him. This continued for a few minutes. Luigi started to question his decision. Was this really a good idea? Boos were known for their dirty tricks. Who is to say they wouldn't try one during the game? Luigi subconsciously reached up to fidget with the rim of his hat. He stopped mid action when he remembered that he lost his hat in the fall. The plumber quickly looked around, he didn't see it anywhere. The group of Boos broke up and flew over to meet Luigi. A Boo approached him. Judging by the stench that followed, he could only assume that this Boo was the one called LimBooger.

" _IF you win, we will take you down to the courtyard and leave you "unsupervised" if you know what I mean."_

Luigi's jaw went slack and his mouth hung agape; he couldn't believe what he just heard. The Boos were actually offering him a chance to escape. It sounded too good to be true, perhaps it was. This game might as well be some sort of trap; but what choice did he have, he had nothing to lose anyways right?

 **" _You've got yourselves a deal."_**

LimBooger smiled wide and laughed. The group all had similar looks on their faces.

" _Great!"_

" _Now wait here and count to one hundred while we hide."_

" _No peeking!"_

Luigi watched as they whirled in a circle around him a few times then dispersed in several different directions into the mansion and disappeared. He made sure they were out of sight before he started counting out loud.

" _One… Two… Three… Four…"_

…

King Boo flew through the underground levels of the mansion with the Gameboy Horror in hand. The device was still making noise. Now the beep sounded like one continuous wail. The king grinned, the machine was annoying, but he finally found a use for it. The king entered the freezer room. The cold storage room would do nicely for what he had planned. The king placed the Gameboy Horror in a small chest in the center of the room. The chest effectively muffled the sound of the device. The king gave a sigh of relief. He was never so thankful for silence in his life. Now that the device was taken care of, he could go back to enjoying his entertainment. But before that, he would go to get that popcorn he wanted.

….

Professor E. Gadd sat in the passenger seat clutching the seat for dear life. Luigi's brother drove like a maniac. Mario was acting like his precious car was some sort of go-kart. The landscape was a blur of green. The professor was glad that he had modified this car to be able to withstand going at such a high speed on a rough terrain. Any other car would have been severely damaged by now. The professor glanced over at the red brother. Mario had one hand on the steering wheel and the other hand on the top of his head keeping his hat from blowing away. The plumber had a determined smile on his face, you could easily tell he enjoyed driving. The map on the screen showed that they still had a while to go. They had been driving for a while and it hadn't looked like they had gotten any closer to the Luigi's signal. Suddenly loud static started coming from the device and the screen started flickering wildly. The map completely disappeared for a few seconds. When it had reappeared, the map looked different. It said that the signal was incredibly close to them. _Wait!_ The map must have just updated itself. The signal was somewhere off to the right. If they didn't turn soon, they were going to pass it!

" _Turn right!"_

" _What?"_

" _I SAID TURN RIGHT!"_ He had to shout so Mario could hear him over the wind.

" _But there's nothing there!"_

" _JUST DO IT! Don't ask questions!"_

Mario nodded and drifted the car into an incredibly sharp right turn. The professor was slightly shocked; he didn't know that his car was able to handle that kind of turn at the speed they were going at. He didn't have time to enjoy that new bit of information as the car was now heading off road and towards the tree line up ahead. The map was telling them that the signal was coming from somewhere in the woods up ahead. Mario had to greatly reduce the speed of the car before they entered the woods. The car may do fine on rough terrain, but hitting a tree was not an option. The car carefully wove through the trees as they drove through the foliage. E. Gadd looked around, the woods were a beautiful place to be, but there was something definitely amiss. The further they ventured the more noticeable it was that the plants were dying. The plants transitioned from a lively green to a lifeless grey. The trees had less and less leaves until the trees that they passed had no leaves at all. Theoretically, this would be the prime spot for a haunted mansion. The weather began to change too. From the bright baby blue sky to a dark thunderstorm. The professor shifted his glasses and looked up at the sky. He knew from experience that this was no natural thunderstorm. Just from the storm alone, he knew that the mansion was here. Luigi's signal was much stronger now; he could read the map without it glitching out. The map said that they were practically there. They couldn't see anything until they passed a thick patch of dead trees into a large clearing. They drove into the clearing and there it was. The mansion stood in the middle of the field tall and proud in all its eerie glory. E. Gadd noticed that Mario stiffened and started becoming visibly nervous. He gave Mario a sympathetic look. He couldn't blame the kid considering what had happened last time he went into the mansion. They parked the car right by the tree line so the branches would help keep the car hidden. The professor got out of the car and started unloading supplies. Mario was looking at the mansion. something appeared to have caught his eye and he walked off toward the building. E. Gadd was going to question where Mario was going when he saw him pick up something green off the ground and brush it off. Mario then turned around and returned with a troubled look on his face. The professor finally got a good look at what Mario was holding. It was Luigi's hat…


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

Luigi stood on the balcony facing away from the building.

" _Ninety-nine… one hundred! Ready or not here I come."_

Luigi turned back towards the building. He was on the clock now. His hour to find everyone had just begun, so he better get moving. Luigi walked back through the door he came from. There was bound to be some Boos hiding in the rooms that he had already passed on the way to the balcony. Luigi opened the door on his right that led to the armory. Luigi gulped, he remembered this room too well. The suits of armor were very dangerous and painful if you stood in the wrong spot. A small laugh resounded from somewhere in the room. There was no mistaking that sound, a Boo was in here. That was a start. Now, where were they? Luigi walked around the room debating where to check first. He opened up a chest, no Boo. He opened another chest, no Boo. He let out a sigh; he never knew how much he took the Gameboy Horror for granted until now. Without the device, he was stuck checking every nook and cranny for Boos instead of just listening for the beep. At this rate, he was never going to find all of them within an hour. If he was going to win this game, he was going to need to have a trick up his sleeve. He walked up to the first suit of knight's armor. He looked at the menacing piece of metal before him. He tapped the metal; he hated doing this. He briskly stepped to the side as the armor's weapon came swinging down at him. The armor's helmet opened revealing… no Boo. Luigi moved over to the next suit of armor… no Boo.

Four suits of armor later….

Luigi took the step to the side and barely avoided the sharp looking mace. The helmet opened and a white blur flew out.

" _UnderBoo's makin' a comeback! Took you long enough! How many Boos have you caught so far? Suckers heheheh"_ Luigi sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

" _Uhm well... you're the first one."_

" _I'M THE FIRST ONE?! No! I can't lose!"_ UnderBoo started having a mini tantrum and Luigi cautiously took a step back.

" _Why not?"_

" _I had the perfect hiding place! I even bragged about it! If they find out I got found first, they'll never let me live it down!"_ A bright idea just struck Luigi. You could almost see the mischievous sparkle in his eye. He had just found the opportunity he was looking for. If he played this right, victory would be his! Luigi spoke up.

" _You know, I could fix your problem."_ The Boo stopped his tantrum.

" _You can?"_

" _I'll make a deal with you. If you help me find the other Boos, I'll tell everyone that you were the last one found."_

" _You would do that? Wait- You never struck me as a cheater Luigi. We don't like cheaters though."_

" _Do you want everyone to know you were found first or not?"_

" _Fine! I'll help you."_

" _Deal?"_

" _Tch ok. You better keep up your end of the deal."_

…

Mario looked at the green hat in his hands. The bright color stood out amongst the almost greyscale scenery around them. The hat had a small coating of dirt on it. Mario couldn't tell how long the hat had been laying there, but for Luigi's sake he hoped it wasn't long. He shoved the hat into his pocket and looked up towards the professor. The professor read the look on his face and gave him a reassuring look in return. They both made sure the vacuums were secured properly to their backs before approaching the haunted building. As they walked closer, Mario noticed a subtle difference with the new mansion.

" _Where's the front door?"_ The professor looked up from the Gameboy Horror in his hand.

" _Crikey You're right!"_

Right where the front door should be there was nothing but wall. What kind of building doesn't have a front door?! Then again, the place was filled with ghosts. What purpose did ghosts have for doors when they can just pass through walls right? Mario looked up at the windows on the second floor wishing that his younger brother would just appear and this whole ordeal would be over. Little did he know that his problems were only just beginning. He jumped back when a large shape crossed in front of the window. That was definitely not his brother. The professor saw the same shadow and motioned for them to move around the side of the building. Hopefully whoever was at the window didn't see them. They crouched and made their way towards the back of the building being careful to avoid being seen out in the open. Mario internally cringed as each step resulted in the loud crunching of dead leaves. He looked down, the leaves were everywhere. So much for being discreet. Eventually they came across a brick wall. That was likely going to be their way in. the wall was awfully high. Mario was sure that he could jump it, but he wasn't sure about the professor. He was an old man after all. Mario leaped and landed on the top of the wall. He crouched down and reached out his hand to help the professor up. The old man shook his head.

" _There's no need lad. There's perks to being a scientist."_

Mario was going to question the professor when the old man pulled a small metal pipe out of his pocket. He pressed a button and the pipe extended into a ladder that easily reached the top of the wall. Mario stood at the top of the wall impressed; this guy had everything! The old man easily scaled the wall and now they stood in what appeared to be a boneyard/ backyard? The place had a large doghouse and a large patch of dirt not far from it. As soon as they stepped foot in the yard a skeleton ghost appeared from the ground. The old man stepped back and ushered Mario forward.

" _Time for you to start your "on the job" training. Remember to look for the heart first."_

Mario gulped and turned on his flashlight. He had the flashlight on the ghost too long and the ghost disappeared with a small popping sound.

" _It's alright lad, he'll show up again. Remember to move quickly."_

Soon enough, the ghost reappeared and Mario was ready for it. He quickly used the flashlight like the professor said and had effectively stunned the ghost. The professor gave him a nod of approval as he turned on the vacuum and started sucking up the ghost. Sucking up the ghost was a bit harder than the training from the lab. Mario dug his heels into the ground as he got dragged all around the room. After an exceptionally hard jerk of the vacuum, he was finally able to suck up the skeleton. Mario wiped the sweat off his brow and smiled. Catching his first real ghost was exhilarating. The professor smiled and gave him a pat on the back. They soon returned to the task at hand. Mario watched as the professor started tapping buttons on the Gameboy Horror.

" _According to the map, the other Gameboy is somewhere below us. It is likely in the basement."_

" _Should we search there first then?"_

" _Yes, it'll be helpful if we have both devices. That way we can spit up and be able to keep contact."_

" _Split up?"_

" _Yes. We can cover more ground faster that way. Time is not our friend here."_

" _Let's go then."_

….

King Boo was in the kitchen pouring his freshly made popcorn into a bowl. His mouth watered, the snack looked delicious. The king was about to eat a handful of the stuff when another Boo rushed into the kitchen. He sighed, his subjects had a habit of showing up when he had food. This time his visitor was TurBoo and was he wearing Luigi's Mustache? The king cringed; he knew he should have disposed of those mustaches when he had the chance. TurBoo approached him.

" _ **Hey! Make your own popcorn."**_

" _Popcorn? Ooh can I have some? Wait! Sir! I have news!"_

" _ **What kind of news?"**_

" _I just saw Mario and that old guy outside the mansion!"_

" _ **So, they're finally here..."**_

" _Should we go stop them?"_

" _ **No, leave them alone for now. They won't get very far."**_

" _So, what now?"_

" _ **For now, we wait."**_

" _Can I have some popcorn?"_ TurBoo gave him a pleading look.

" _ **Fine. You can have one handful. No more no less."**_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

E. Gadd watched as Mario finished clearing the Boneyard of ghosts. The boy was still a bit slow when it came to catching them, but he was showing improvement. As the last ghost was caught, they were rewarded with the lights turning on. Mario looked around seeming satisfied with his work. As nice as it was watching the kid practice, they needed to be making their way toward the basement. E. Gadd walked up to the door leading inside and motioned for Mario to follow closely. The professor opened the door surprised to find it unlocked. They stepped into what appeared to be the kitchen. The kitchen looked like it was recently used, but no one was in sight. E. Gadd eyed a suspicious looking bowl of popcorn on the counter. It was still hot; whoever left it must have been here recently. He started walking around examining the room. There was something strange going on here. The Gameboy Horror was giving him mixed signals. One moment it would signal that a Boo was nearby and then it would stop. The device did that a few times. He had bad feeling about that. The Gameboy appeared to be functioning properly, so that could mean one other thing; they were being watched. If the Boos already knew they were here, their mission was about to become a whole lot harder. The professor looked back at Mario and his eyes went wide. Mario was shoving his face full of popcorn.

" _Mario what do you think you're doing!"_

" _What's it look like? I'm eating."_

" _That much is obvious, but why?! It could be a trap for all we know."_

" _But I'm hungry. Plus, how can popcorn be a trap?"_

" _The possibilities and variables are endless. Who knows? The popcorn could have been poisoned."_

" _But it's popcorn!"_ The Gameboy Horror beeped again.

" _They know we're here. We better get moving."_

Mario nodded and with one swift movement, dumped the rest of the popcorn into his mouth. E. Gadd gave him an unamused look. He hoped for Mario's sake that the popcorn was just regular popcorn; Mario was so stubborn. They opened the next door and entered the dining room.

…

King Boo was currently floating with TurBoo in between walls. They hid in the wall when they heard the door open; he didn't feel like dealing with two Poltergusts right now. The King regretted not taking his popcorn with him. He held back curses as he watched that stupid plumber devour it all. TurBoo noticed the king's distress and laughed silently to himself. At least he was able to eat a handful of popcorn before Mario ate it. They took turns peering through the wall spying on the heroes. They couldn't get any closer without the Gameboy Horror giving them away. Mario and E. Gadd didn't give any information about where they were going, but the king had a pretty good idea. King Boo laughed. Humans were so gullible! Unknowingly they would play right into his hands. The Boos watched as the duo left the kitchen and then came out of the wall. King Boo looked at the empty popcorn bowl with utter distain. Maybe he should have poisoned the popcorn.

" _So, are you going to make more popcorn?"_

" _Nope. I've got business to attend to."_ The king now grinned.

King Boo phased through the wall. What he had planned was far better than popcorn.

…

Mario and Professor E. Gadd ran through the hall as fast as they could, a huge crowd of ghosts chasing them. How did they get to this point? It all started in the dining room. Mario had underestimated the power of the vacuum again and somehow managed to knock over both of the large china cabinets. Let's just say the ghosts hiding inside weren't too happy and called in some of their friends. That led to their current situation of sprinting through the hall. As they ran, it seemed like the hallway wasn't getting any shorter. Mario noticed that the old man was starting to fall behind, it was partially due to the fact that the professor was attempting to read the map while running. Trying not to slow down, Mario picked up the professor as quick as he could and had him sit on his shoulders. The professor objected at first, but then realized the tactical advantage it gave them. E. Gadd could now clearly read the map and use his vacuum to start sucking up the ghosts behind them.

" _Turn left then head straight through that door."_

Mario nodded and continued as fast as he could. What they both were not anticipating was for Mario's foot to get caught on a section of loose carpet. Mario tripped and down they both went. Mario looked up, the professor was next to him. The old man seemed fine besides the fact that his glasses flew off somewhere during the fall. They didn't have time to stop and look for them as the crowd was upon them. They were surrounded by ghosts. From the professor's perspective, they appeared to be surrounded by colorful blurry shapes. Mario smirked, these ghosts seemed awfully confident. Did they not notice that they had vacuums on them? Mario and the somewhat blind professor turned on their vacuums and started sucking up ghosts left and right. It was hard to do because of the limited room, but they managed to do it. After a good eight minutes, they managed to clear away the rest of the crowd that was chasing them. Professor E. Gadd was busy vacuuming up the last purple blur when Mario noticed there was something shiny on the ground near the professor. Mario immediately recognized it as the professor's glasses. He was about to call out a warning to the old man, but he was too late. E. Gadd took a step forward and…

*CRUNCH*

E. Gadd heard the sound of grass cracking and instantly knew what had happened. He just hoped that the glasses would be still usable. Mario rushed over, picked up the broken pair of glasses and handed them to E. Gadd. The professor brushed the dust off it and put the glasses back on. Mario looked at the glasses. The frame was slightly bent and the left lens had a large web of cracks that took over most of the glass. Mario was glad that the other lens came out undamaged, at least the professor was able to see properly out of one eye. Mario spoke up.

" _It doesn't look that bad."_ E. Gadd chuckled.

" _You flatter me Mario. We should probably get going before I crack the other lens."_

Mario opened the door and they walked down the stairs down to the basement. They took a left turn and entered the storage room. Man, that room was messy. There were giant piles of dust on the floor. Mario was wondering how they were going to get around them when a certain broken pair of glasses hit him on the head. Mario looked up. The professor was standing on the ceiling like some sort of bat!

" _Woah. How did you get up there?!"_

" _Go step on that circle in the corner."_

Mario hesitantly stepped on the circle. It felt like gravity changed and he flipped onto the ceiling.

" _Woah this is so cool!"_

" _Isn't it?"_

Mario handed the glasses back to the professor and they crossed the room. The professor stepped on another circle at the other end of the room and Mario did the same. They both flipped back onto the floor. Mario looked back at the ceiling amazed as E. Gadd opened the door into another hallway. This hallway looked a lot different than the other halls. This hallway was all grey brick and stone. The place looked almost medieval. Not to mention that it looked extra creepy. The mansion was already creepy looking, but this hallway took the cake.

" _According to the Gameboy Horror, Luigi's Gameboy should be right in this room next to us."_

" _Alright. The sooner we grab it and find Luigi the better."_

They entered the room. The room was full of ice with one lit torch in the corner. There was no doubt that this was the freezer room. The room was absolutely freezing! Mario was glad that they didn't find Luigi in here. He didn't want to have come all this way to find a Luigi popsicle. Wherever Luigi was, Mario hoped that he was ok. Mario started shivering; he didn't want to know how cold the room would be without that giant torch in the corner. He walked over to the professor. E. Gadd was crouched over a small suspicious looking chest in the middle of the room. The professor handed Mario the second Gameboy Horror and then continued examining the chest.

" _I don't like the looks of this."_

" _Why? What's wrong?"_

" _Luigi's Gameboy Horror was in this chest. Someone had to have put it here and probability says that it wasn't likely Luigi."_

" _What does that mean then?"_

" _It means that this is most likely a tra-"_

E. Gadd was interrupted by the door slamming shut and locking. Both Gameboys then started beeping wildly. King Boo entered through the wall clapping mockingly slow.

" _ **Well done Professor. If only you had figured it out sooner…"**_

" _You foul Boo! Where's Luigi!"_

" _ **Ah yes Luigi. He's so fun to mess with. You should have seen when my subjects dropped him off the roof."**_

" _The roof?! You maniac!"_ Mario joined the conversation.

" _You bastard! What have you done with my brother?!"_

" _ **You will see soon enough Mario. For now, why don't you guys chill in here for a while."**_

King Boo flew over to the torch and dropped a block of ice on it. The flames were extinguished with a loud sizzling sound. The king laughed and disappeared through the wall again. Mario became nervous. Without the torch, the room's temperature was decreasing rapidly. The ice on the floor started to spread and creep up the walls at an alarming pace. He started stomping his feet when he noticed that the ice was starting to make its way up his shoe.

" _Professor what do we do?!"_


	10. Chapter 10

**It's been a while since I posted a chapter. Gotta love college -_-. Anyways here is the long overdue chapter 10. Enjoy!**

 **...**

Professor E. Gadd rushed around the freezer room trying to find a solution to their current predicament. The ice was spreading at an impossible pace. If Mario and himself were to remain in the room, they would surely be frozen solid in a half hour at most. The professor looked back at Mario. The lad was rapidly stomping his feet trying to break the ice that had already inched up past his ankles. E. Gadd walked over and stuck his hand in the extinguished torch in the corner. He frowned, the coals were far too damp to try to rekindle the fire. He regretted not harnessing some of the fire element before going to retrieve Luigi's device. Without the use of fire, they were going to have to get out of here using wits and brute force. E. Gadd rushed to the locked door ignoring the ice that was creeping up his shins. The lock had already frozen over, but if force was applied in the right places, they might be able to break it. The professor beckoned to Mario who already had ice up to his knees. Mario looked up and made his way across the room.

" _Mario, I need you to hold the handle and turn it in this direction. Try to keep in position while pulling it towards yourself. I'm going to try to remove the lock and hinges."_

" _How are you going to do that professor. "_

" _I am going to try with this."_

He held up a strange looking tool. The professor was glad he had it with him. He always kept one of these in his lab coat pocket. It had multiple tools in one. It was much easier to have instead of searching for several different tools. Hopefully the tool would be of use here. Mario grabbed the handle and gripped it as hard as he could while trying not to let his gloves slip on the ice. E. Gadd then selected one of the larger tools and started chipping ice away from the lock so he could start disassembling it. He had been chipping the ice away for a good five minutes. The professor wiped away his half-frozen sweat. The good news was that the lock was clear of ice. The bad news was that they were now up to their waists in a layer of ice and it was incredibly hard to move. The professor took out a screwdriver to start taking out the screws on the door when they both heard an ominous crack. They both looked around looking for the source of the loud cracking sound. Mario was the first to spot it, a large icicle hanging just above them. The cracking sound continued and the icicle began to lightly sway back and forth. E. Gadd looked up just in time just to see the icicle come down. There was not enough time for the both of them to dodge and at last second Mario pushed E. Gadd out of the way.

" _Mario NO!"_

But it was too late. Mario was hit and became frozen in a block of ice. The professor could see the ice block shake as Mario tried to break free. He probably would have been able to do so if the ice wouldn't have continued to grow on the surface. E. Gadd grabbed the multi-tool and tried to chip away at Mario's ice block.

" _Hang in there lad! Keep trying to break the ice!"_

It was no use. The ice was spreading faster than the professor could remove it and Mario appeared to have passed out.

" _No No No…"_

E. Gadd continued to try to work at the block as he was gradually encased by the spreading ice. After a few minutes, all went silent and only two ice cubes encasing the frozen heroes remained.

…..

King Boo was waiting outside the freezer room door smiling. This was one of his best plans yet. Slow and sweet revenge just the way he liked it. He didn't expect for things to get so dramatic in there, but it was a good twist. The king waited for the room to go quiet before going in. Inside he peered at the frozen heroes and wiped the frost off the surface of the ice. The king giggled. Mario and E. Gadd were frozen in hilarious positions. Now that the nuisances were successfully captured, it was time for the next phase in his plan. King Boo took the two ice blocks and moved them down the hall to the secret altar. Now that two of his pawns were in place, it was time to set the final pawn, Luigi.

…..

UnderBoo flew in front of Luigi as they went down the hallway. UnderBoo gave out an annoyed sigh. Luigi had been uncomfortably humming the entire time. His humming was getting really annoying. If Luigi was going to hum as they walked, then he should at least hum decently. UnderBoo was debating if he should just turn around and smack him. He eventually sided against it and told him to shut up instead. Luigi just gave him a smile in return. Not that he would ever admit it, but besides the humming, the plumber wasn't a bad guy. If it wasn't for the fact that Luigi was their enemy, he would probably consider being nice to him. So far, he had helped Luigi find the majority of the Boos. However, UnderBoo knew that the hour was almost up. He wasn't sure himself if they would find everyone in time. Luigi was a fool for agreeing to this game. Seriously did he even think this through? Find 50 Boos in an hour. He would have to be going impossibly fast to meet that deadline. UnderBoo shook his head. Stupid plumber. This was a game rigged for Luigi to lose and there was more at stake in this game than Luigi knew. The odds were stacked against them. Fortunately, those odds were the type that UnderBoo worked with best. They were about to enter the Astral Hall when….

" _I knew it!"_

 _Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap!_ Both UnderBoo and Luigi froze in their tracks. Boonswoggle appeared from the door in front of them and gave off a chilling laugh.

" _Well well well, what do we have here? A traitor and a cheater. Explain yourself UnderBoo."_

" _I-it's not what it looks like!"_

" _Oh really? Rumor says that Luigi's been finding Boos very fast- too fast in my opinion. The only real way he could have done it is with help and BOOM I find you two together. Try and tell me that's just a coincidence." UnderBoo visibly paled._

" _Uhm well...you see- "Boonswoggle cut him off._

" _That's what I thought. I expected better of you UnderBoo. You know the punishment for helping the enemy."_

" _No! You can't! Anything but that! Can't we work something out?!"_

By now the other Boos heard the commotion and had gathered around them, whispers and accusations could be heard spreading through the crowd. Boonswoggle paused and looked at UnderBoo with a contemplating look on his face. UnderBoo grew more and more uneasy as they had a long quiet pause. A voice spoke up from behind them.

" _ **Actually, today is your lucky day. I have something in mind."**_

All the Boos turned around to face King Boo. The king had a large creepy grin on his face. He had heard the whole conversation. The King came closer and whispered something to UnderBoo. UnderBoo gave a quick nervous look to Luigi and then reluctantly nodded.

…..

Luigi looked at UnderBoo and the King nervously. The look that UnderBoo just gave him was not a good sign. Whatever they planned to do no doubt involved him somehow. It was a shame; he kind of liked UnderBoo. He had never meant for this to happen. He just wanted to win the game so he could go home. Luigi started to regret agreeing to play with the Boos. This probably wouldn't be happening if he hadn't agreed to that stupid game. Hopefully the professor would be here to help him soon. His blood ran cold as King Boo turned to him with his wide maniac grin.

" _ **Now you'll see what happens to those who cheat."**_

King Boo motioned for the Boos to grab Luigi. The Boos swarmed and picked him up by his arms and legs; Luigi kicked and struggled in their grip. The Boos followed the king downstairs to the secret altar. Luigi looked around the room. The room looked almost the same as he last remembered it. The only difference this time was the wall. On the wall where Mario's painting used to be, there was an empty picture frame. Luigi noticed that the frame had green accents on it. He felt his stomach drop; there was a good chance that the frame was meant for him. Luigi yelped as the Boos holding him dropped him unceremoniously onto the floor. He scrambled to his feet as the Boos dispersed around the room. From the other side of the room he heard several Boos laughing and crowding around something. Luigi walked over to see what they were looking at. What he saw made his heart stop. There frozen in ice was his brother and the professor! Luigi felt panic swell up inside of him. He reached out and pounded his fist on the ice. Were they alive? He couldn't tell. He hoped that they were; he didn't know what he would do if he were to lose them. Luigi stopped pounding the ice when he heard the King laughing behind him. Never in his life had he wanted to hurt someone so badly. Luigi turned to face King Boo.

" _HOW DARE YOU!"_


	11. Chapter 11

Luigi shook with a mix of hatred and fear. His brother and mentor could possibly be dead while King Boo sat there laughing. This was the last straw. Luigi balled up his fists and lunged at King Boo. Catching the king off guard, he was able to hit him square in the jaw sounding off a loud crack. Luigi didn't know if the crack was from the king's jaw or his own knuckles. King Boo gave him a quick look of surprise before it turned into his usual grin.

" _ **So, Baby Luigi finally decided to grow a pair and fight back."**_ The king mocked.

" _You killed them!"_ Luigi growled. He tried to swing at the king again, but the other Boos held him back. The king let out a boisterous laugh.

" _ **Relax Luigi. They aren't dead...yet."**_

King Boo grabbed a torch and flew over to the two ice blocks. The king lifted the torch up to the ice. The ice started to melt from the top and eventually, Mario and E. Gadd's heads and necks were free from the ice. Mario and E. Gadd still looked unconscious. Luigi wanted to get closer to check his friends but the Boos holding him prevented him from doing so.

" _So, they're alive?"_

" _ **Obviously. Can't have a dead audience, now can we?"**_

" _Audience?"_

King Boo gestured to the empty picture frame on the wall. **_"After all. I need someone to witness me make my greatest painting yet."_** Luigi shivered. He knew King Boo would want to make him into a painting sooner or later.

" _ **What do you think of the frame I picked out?"**_

" _It's terrible."_ The king let out a dramatic gasp.

" _ **How dare you insult it! It's the epitome of class! You have no taste in fine craftsmanship, Luigi."**_

Luigi sighed. In all honesty, he did like the frame. The frame's pattern was elegant and expensive looking. He just wished that the picture frame wasn't about to become his personal prison. Luigi must have struck a nerve with King Boo because the king had already started a rant about fine art. Luigi was only half listening as King Boo droned on and on about art styles and someone named Vincent Van Gore.

…

Mario felt cold. The cold was the only thing he could register in his mind. His mind felt hazy. Why was he cold? Where was he? He could hear voices in the back of his mind, but he couldn't understand what they were saying. Mario suddenly became aware of the fact that he couldn't move. His mind went frantic, why couldn't he move?!

Mario tried to lift his head. All his muscles were stiff and it felt like he was trying to lift a heavy dumbbell with his neck. He let his head fall and rest on the ice again. The sounds around him were becoming clearer. He heard a small groan to his right. With great difficulty, he turned his head to face the sound and finally opened his eyes. What he saw confused him. It was the professor up to his neck in ice. The professor's head slightly moved but didn't lift. Mario looked down at himself, he appeared to be in the same situation as the professor. Well, that explained why he was cold. Mario was aware that he wasn't shivering. Should he be shivering? Well, that's not a good sign. A loud laugh and talking from across the room caught his attention. Mario fought to lift his head to see who was talking. He was able to lift his head just long enough to catch a glance at King Boo and Luigi…...wait a second…...KING BOO AND LUIGI?! Mario's memories rushed back and hit him all at once. The ice, the professor, King Boo, Luigi, it all made sense now! Mario felt overwhelmed with all of this sudden information. Luigi was alive and across the room from him! Mario tilted his head so he could listen in on the conversation. He listened to the king's ranting for a couple minutes. Ewww was Luigi getting an art lecture? Mario decided it was time to make his presence known.

" _I'm more of an abstract fan myself."_

Both King Boo and Luigi quickly turned to face him. Luigi had a look of pure joy on his face. Never had Mario been so happy to see his brother. King Boo also had a wide grin.

" _Mario!"_ Luigi excitedly exclaimed.

" _ **Well look who's finally up. I must say you and the old man put on quite a show in the freezer"**_

Mario looked from Luigi to King Boo and growled: _"You're lucky this ice is holding me back."_

" _ **Well, that is the point."**_ The King retorted with a sarcastic tone.

Mario rolled his eyes and briefly tried again to free his arms from the ice. He gave out a frustrated grunt when he was unsuccessful. He angrily looked up at the king who had a very amused look on his face.

" _Let us go and I might go easy on you."_ Mario spat.

" _ **Ha! Stupid plumber! You're lucky I even let you and that old loon live."**_

" _So why did you let us live then?"_ Out of the corner of his eye, Mario saw that E. Gadd was now awake and listening to them.

" _ **I'm glad you asked. It's great to have a participating audience."**_

" _What do you mean?"_ Mario was afraid to find out the answer to that question.

" _ **You two lucky souls are alive to watch me make a painting of a certain brother of yours."**_ The king smiled very pleased with himself.

" _You wouldn't!"_

" _ **Mario, you of all people know that I would."**_

King Boo turned away from the Mario and turned to the other Boos and Luigi.

" **UnderBoo fetch the frame. I think it's about time I get painting."**

…

UnderBoo reluctantly did what the king had ordered and flew to get the frame. The pleading look on Luigi's face made him regret every second of it. UnderBoo battled his conscience trying to justify why he should just do as he was told and ignore the guilt. It wasn't like he had a choice in the matter, right? This was the ultimatum the king gave him. His choices were either to betray Luigi and participate in turning him into a painting or face the unspeakable consequences of betraying his own kind. This wasn't fair. He felt like he was trapped between a rock and a hard place, a choice between friend or family. The war in mind continued as he lifted the heavy frame off the wall and carried it over to the king.

The king then instructed more Boos to hold up the frame while UnderBoo prepared it. UnderBoo touched the empty surface of the frame with his tail and the surface of the picture began to ripple like the surface of a pond. He could feel Luigi staring at him from next to the king. UnderBoo purposely avoided looking back at Luigi. He couldn't bear to look Luigi in the eyes. He didn't want to see the look on Luigi's face when he realized that there was no hope for him. UnderBoo stuck his hand through the surface of the painting frame. The surface rippled around his arm. On the other side, his hand appeared as an oil painting looking version of itself. He pulled his hand out. The painting was ready. UnderBoo gave a nod to King Boo and flew off to the other side of the room. He looked at the two partially frozen heroes that were looking at the king with pure rage and an idea struck him. Perhaps he could help Luigi after all.

….


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

 **...**

After being dismissed by the king, UnderBoo discreetly made his way across the room towards the two frozen heroes. It was surprisingly easy to do since everyone in the room had their focus on the spectacle made by the king in front of them. Once he was close enough to the heroes he let out a small cough to try to catch their attention...no response. He tried again a bit louder this time. UnderBoo failed again to catch the hero's attention. He then cautiously flew up between Mario and E. Gadd and poked Mario in the face.

" _Hey!"_ Mario practically shouted.

UnderBoo quickly put his hand over Mario's mouth.

" _Keep your voice down idiot. I want to help you guys."_

Mario and E. Gadd gave him mutual looks of mistrust. The old man spoke.

" _Why would you want to help us?"_ his whispering voice laced with suspicion.

" _Let's just say I consider Luigi a friend."_ UnderBoo motioned to a torch on their left.

" _I can get you out of that ice."_

" _Why should we trust you?"_ Mario spat.

Suddenly they all heard Luigi angrily yell and they turned their attention to the scene. King Boo was lifting him off the floor by the front of his shirt. Luigi was angrily kicking the air in front of him trying to get the king to release him. UnderBoo quickly hid behind Mario as the king looked back at them to catch their reactions. Mario gave the king what he wanted as he angrily yelled back at him. UnderBoo flew up behind Mario's head and whispered into his ear.

" _By the looks of things, I say you don't have a choice but to trust me."_

King Boo now dangled Luigi over the prepared painting frame. Luigi's shoes were brushing against and dipping into the rippling surface. The king started slowly lowering him in enjoying how Luigi squirmed at the sensation of being turned to paint. Mario's eyes widened, he didn't trust this Boo, but he couldn't allow his brother to be turned into a painting. He turned to UnderBoo.

" _Ok get us out of here."_

UnderBoo grabbed the torch off the wall and flew back towards them.

" _Stay very still or this is going to hurt."_

The heroes complied remaining as still as possible why UnderBoo discreetly melted away the ice with the flame. What UnderBoo wasn't expecting was for the heroes to drop to the floor like dead fish once the ice wasn't holding them up anymore.

" _Get up!"_ UnderBoo hissed.

" _I guess our muscles are a bit numb."_ E. Gadd said drearily.

UnderBoo started to panic. They didn't have time for this! It was a miracle that King Boo hadn't noticed them yet. Out of desperation and curiosity, UnderBoo brought the torch's flame to Mario's arm. It took longer than it should have before Mario jerked his arm away and stood up to punch him.

" _What is wrong with you!"_ Mario fumed.

" _That worked a lot better than I thought it would."_ UnderBoo said with an amused tone.

UnderBoo flew over to the professor and did the same thing. The professor jumped up with an involuntary shout. All three of them cringed at the sound. They couldn't avoid the inevitable forever and at that moment King Boo turned around to face them.

The king's face turned to one of surprise and then complete fury.

" _ **Seize them!"**_

UnderBoo ducked behind the heroes as they turned on their vacuums. A whole hoard of Boos came at them. It became chaos between Boos everywhere and destructive power of the vacuums sucking them up. UnderBoo had to dodge to avoid getting sucked in by the vacuums himself.

 **….**

King Boo looked over to the frozen heroes to see that they weren't so frozen anymore. Beside them was the traitor UnderBoo. The king knew he should have disposed of the Boo instead. This is what happens when you show mercy.

Now that Mario and the professor were free, there was nothing stopping them from using those dreaded vacuums. The Boos he had sent against them were being captured fast. He needed a new plan. The king took advantage of the chaos and grabbed Luigi (whose upper half was still sticking out of the painting frame) and disappeared from the room. Luigi tried to call out to his brother, but he couldn't be heard over the noise. How convenient.

The king sped through various hallways with Luigi in tow. His plan was to stash Luigi somewhere where the heroes couldn't find him and then rally the rest of the Boos that were scattered throughout the mansion. There was no way he was going to let Mario and that crazy old man win. At first, he was planning to let them off with some mild torture, but now things have changed. He was going to kill them if he had to.

" _You won't get away with this you know."_

King Boo looked down at Luigi with an unamused look on his face.

" _ **You couldn't come up with anything more original to say? I thought you were better than this Luigi."**_

" _And I thought you were better than losing to a vacuum cleaner, yet here we are."_

King Boo growled and took the opportunity to smack the plumber on the side of the head. Luigi shivered when he felt himself slide slightly further into the picture frame. They were flying around on the second floor when they passed by a door that was boarded up. King Boo observed the door thinking about the room sealed behind it. Now that he thought about it, this room would do nicely. Even without the boards on the outside, the door has gone so long without use that it was probably permanently jammed shut. The king didn't care since he could just pass through the wall anyway, but this door could easily do its job keeping certain pesky humans out which made it perfect.

King Boo started passing through the wall when he heard a loud thump and an _"Ouch!"_ coming from behind him. Oh right, he couldn't bring Luigi through the wall with him. He backed up to see the plumber nursing a decent sized bump on his head. The king smirked, he did not regret doing that one bit.

Now that they couldn't go through the wall, they'd have go the long way. It must be so tedious being a human. King Boo adjusted his grip on the picture frame and flew full speed to the roof. Once on the roof, he looked at the two chimneys on either side of him. He hadn't used this entrance in a long time, but he was sure that the chimney on the right would lead straight down into the sealed room. King Boo flew Luigi up to the entrance of the chimney and dangled him over the opening. Luigi looked down with wide eyes before looking back up at King Boo

" _Don't you dare."_ Luigi hissed.

" _ **In what position are you to try to stop me?"**_

With that, the king let go and sent Luigi free-falling down the chimney and into the sealed room. The king waited a couple seconds before going in after Luigi. The green hero shrieked as the floor came closer. The picture frame limited Luigi's movements making him unable to brace himself. Just before he hit the floor King Boo caught him and set him next to one of the many chests in the room. He didn't want to damage the picture frame after all. He handed Luigi the flashlight he had been using earlier. Luigi looked at him briefly with confusion. King Boo enjoyed the look of shock the plumber gave him when he finally pieced together what this meant. He was going to be trapped in the dark again.

" _ **Have fun."**_

Without waiting for the other to respond, the king left to go gather the other Boos. He had an idea.

 **…..**

Mario and E. Gadd quickly worked to finish off the Boos that were coming at them. There were two Boos left. E. Gadd started sucking up one while Mario took aim towards the other one. The Boo had a look of shock before frantically yelling at him.

" _Wait! Stop! It's me!"_

Mario took a quick look to make sure there were no other Boos around before lowering the vacuum.

" _Whoops sorry. You guys all look the same."_

" _Hey! We do not look the same!"_ UnderBoo huffed.

" _Yes, you do. You're all like clones."_

" _Are not!"_ UnderBoo turned to the professor. _"Do you think all Boos look the same?"_

There was a long pause, the professor cleared his throat before answering. _"Well… I'm sure if you look closely there could be some distinguishable differences."_

Mario laughed, E. Gadd couldn't tell them apart either. Meanwhile, UnderBoo was fuming. E. Gadd sighed and spoke up.

" _Aren't you lads forgetting something or should I say someone?"_

" _...Luigi!"_ Mario and UnderBoo shouted in unison. Mario looked around noticing that neither the king or Luigi were anywhere in sight.

" _Dammit! How did we let them get away?"_

" _Must have left during the fight."_ UnderBoo stated.

Professor E. Gadd adjusted the vacuum on his back before marching forward. _"I suggest we get going and start looking for them. Who knows what kind of tricks King Boo has up his sleeve."_

UnderBoo winced at that statement. He knew exactly what King Boo was capable of and it was not pleasant.

The three of them rushed out of the room and back up the stairs to the first floor of the mansion. The building seemed deadly silent as they walked down various hallways unsure of where to look. Professor E. Gadd looked at one of the Gameboy Horrors studying the map of the mansion. The professor had to temporarily disable the Boo trackers on the devices because of the presence of UnderBoo.

" _UnderBoo lad, do you have any idea where King Boo could have gone?"_

The Boo lowered his head. _"I'm not sure, but from what we've seen, I can bet that he's going to need to gather more Boos. Especially if he wants you dead."_

" _What do you mean by that?"_

UnderBoo ignored the question and kept talking. _"The roof or balcony would be my guess, but you're not going to like what you find..."_

" _Can you explain?"_

" _You'll see… if you can live long enough to fight it."_


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13:**

Luigi sat in the sealed room with the flashlight in hand assessing his situation. He was up to his waist into the picture frame and had no real means of getting out.

Reaching out, his hands were barely able to grab the the wide ends of the frame. Luigi tried to grip the sides of the frame while holding the flashlight as he attempted to pull himself out to no avail. He felt like he was in quicksand, he could easily slide in but found it incredibly hard to get out. The green hero tried again, using all the strength he could muster to try to pry himself from the painting. He barely got his body to move an inch before he collapsed in exhaustion. Luigi huffed, there was no way he would be able to free himself without assistance. He shakily held the flashlight in his hands. Using the light to look around his surroundings, Luigi reminisced about his previous visit to this room a year ago. The room was like he remembered it just like the other rooms.

The various chests in the room sparkled brightly with flashlight's light reflecting off the polished surfaces. If he remembered correctly, there was a lot of treasure in this room along with a decent amount of ghosts hidden within those chests. If he didn't open any of them, he should be safe right? The brightness of the flashlight reflected right back at him as he looked towards the back of the room. Oh yeah, the mirror. It was a pity that he didn't have the Gameboy horror with him. With that he could just use the mirror to teleport back to the foyer. Then he would be home free… if the front door was still there and he could walk.

 _Dang!_

Luigi briefly imagined himself trying to scoot his way around the mansion with the painting as his bottom half. The mental image made him laugh a little. Luigi shook his head a bit, this situation was far from funny. Maybe he was starting to become delusional. How long has he been here? A couple days possibly? Which meant that he hasn't slept or eaten in that time. Not to mention the amount of horror he has faced in such a short timeframe. He was likely set for life with nightmare fuel. That is _if_ he would ever sleep again after this ordeal. Luigi heard his stomach growl. The growl sounded loud in the practically silent room. Without the adrenalin and running for his life, he was finally starting to realize how hungry he was. He hadn't really thought about food until now. Food had been the least of his problems up to this point. _Heck_ his brother and mentor almost froze to death today!

Speaking of them, Luigi wondered how they were doing. King Boo likely has some sort of trap planned for them by now and knowing Mario he'll walk blindly right into it. Hopefully E. Gadd will stop him from doing anything too stupid.

Luigi looked around the room again. This was boring! He didn't like sitting in one spot waiting for his family to come rescue him. A stray thought of his had him wonder if this is what Peach often feels like. Luigi felt like he needed to do something. The professor and Mario were out there catching ghosts without him. Just sitting here, his expert vacuum skills were going to waste. But what could he do? Luigi was still unable to move and the only way out without a Gameboy horror was back up through the chimney. Not wanting to remain idle, Luigi shifted his weight trying to scoot himself forward as he imagined himself doing several minutes prior. The frame moved a couple of centimeters forward… it was a start. The green hero tried again and succeeded in moving the frame another few centimeters. He repeated the action again and again making a small amount of progress each time.

 _Scoot...scoot...scoot...thunk!_

Luigi looked back to see that the back corner of the picture frame bumped into a chest. And of course with Luigi's luck the trunk effortlessly popped open. Luigi felt his stomach drop. _Please just be a money chest! Please just be a money chest!_ The sound of a ghost's laugh eliminated the chance of that immediately.

" _Of course."_

…...

Mario fumed, this Boo was getting on his nerves by dodging their questions. He shook his fist in UnderBoo's face.

" _You better start making sense Boo! You're hiding stuff from us. What are we going to find that's so bad?!"_

" _I don't know if I should say. I don't even know if that's what he's going to do."_ UnderBoo said backing slightly away from Mario. The professor looked up from his device.

" _It would be helpful if you told us lad."_

UnderBoo shook his head. _"Either way it'll turn out badly. Either you'll get hurt or they will."_

" _And what's so bad about that? They're a nuisance."_ Mario stated single-mindedly.

" _Hey! That's my family you're talking about!"_ UnderBoo fumed getting in Mario's face.

" _They're evil maniacs."_

" _That's only when you're around! You seem to bring out their worst and I can see why."_ UnderBoo smirked when he saw Mario's eyebrow twitch.

That comment just served to make Mario angrier. He reached back and grabbed the hose of his vacuum. He was going to get rid of this ghost.

Professor E. Gadd saw Mario reach to use the vacuum. This has gone far enough. UnderBoo was a good enough kid, he wasn't going to let that happen to him. E. Gadd quickly moved and stood in between Mario and UnderBoo. He put his arms up to shield the Boo behind him and met the red plumber's gaze.

" _Both of you stop this!"_

Mario made no move to put the vacuum hose down. _"Move out of the way Professor. That Boo is as good as dust."_

" _No Mario. Turning on each other is not going to help us here and it's definitely not going to help Luigi."_ Mario faltered in his actions at the mention of his brother's name. E. Gadd noticed the gesture, but continued his speech anyways.

" _Did you forget why we are here or are you blinded by your own childishness? I know you and UnderBoo don't see eye to eye, but you guys must overlook that and make amends. We won't get anything accomplished if we are at each other's throats."_ He then turned to UnderBoo behind him.

" _And you UnderBoo. I know you mean well, but you should know that the clash between us and your 'family' is inevitable. When the time comes, you don't have to fight against them with us if you don't want to. However, we need all the help and information you can give us on where they could be and what they could be up to. You said you consider Luigi a friend right?"_

Both Mario and UnderBoo realized the old scientist was right. They looked mildly ashamed of their actions then they turned and met each other's gazes sending each other a silent apology.

E. Gadd adjusted the cracked glasses on his face. _"Now that we have that settled, let's get moving. Lead the way UnderBoo."_

…...

E. Gadd and Mario followed UnderBoo down the hallway listening to UnderBoo's rambling of what could possibly be happening. The Boo was still talking in a rather confusing manor, not giving straight answers and mumbling most of what he said. In E. Gadd's old age, his hearing was not the greatest, but he was still able to pick up a few interesting things in UnderBoo's jumble of words. Among them were the terms _"death sentence"_ and _"getting crushed"_. E. Gadd tried to press further what the ghost meant by that, but the response he received was that the problem was _"too big to describe"_.

UnderBoo said that his guesses for where the king could be were the Balcony and the roof. After rushing through the first and second floor, they were getting close to the first of their two targets. After exiting the safari room, they could now see the door to the balcony. As much as he wanted this to be over with, E. Gadd wasn't sure if he was ready for what could be possibly be behind that door. They eventually reached the door and stopped as a group right in front of it. The three of them looked at each other before Mario reached for the door handle. The door opened with a loud creak. Instead of finding the king and his subjects, they found absolutely nothing. The balcony was eerily silent quiet as they walked. The only sounds they could hear were from their footsteps on the cold stone bricks. Unfortunately, besides from a couple of common ghosts, the only Boo present was UnderBoo. Mario was the first to break the silence.

" _Well I guess they're not here."_ Mario then rapidly looked around to make sure he did not jinx himself by saying that. When no Boos showed up, he let out a sigh. Whether it was a sigh of relief or disappointment was up for debate.

" _I guess we have to try the roof next."_

The group then proceeded to cross the balcony and cut through the hallway that lead to the telephone room. They noticed that the telephone room was in complete disarray. There were tables flipped and ripped wires scattered everywhere across the wooden floor. There was no doubt that the phones in this room were completely unusable. Now that the professor thought about it, was this where Luigi initially called him from? The mess around them would definitely explain why Luigi's call was lost. He was jolted out of his thoughts as a loud crash was heard. E. Gadd turned around to see Mario sprawled out on the floor with his shoes caught on some stray wires. UnderBoo was floating a few feet above him poorly trying to hide his giggles.

Mario jumped up almost as quick as he had fallen and immediately went to untangled his feet from the knot of wires he tripped on. Mario thought he was being discreet when he thought E. Gadd didn't see him throw a dirty look at UnderBoo for laughing. When Mario was up on his feet again and UnderBoo had quieted down, they continued on their trek to the roof through the clockwork room. All three heroes crowded into the tiny elevator trying not to elbow each other in the face as they ascended up to their ultimate destination, the roof.

Mario was the first to step out of the elevator on the seemingly empty roof. Before Mario could say anything that would possibly trigger the appearance of the Boos, the voice of the king greeted them.

" _ **I was wondering when you would finally show up."**_ The voice seemed to come from nowhere.

E. Gadd blinked a few times. Was it him or was the place getting darker? It was especially dark near the center of the roof where Mario was standing. From the point where E. Gadd was standing he could see that there was a large round shadow surrounding Mario. The shadow was growing larger and larger by the second. Something Large was coming and if Mario didn't move now he was going to be crushed!

" _MARIO MOVE!"_

Mario ran and got out of the way just in time to avoid being flattened by the largest Boo they've ever seen. The Boo had to be at least five times bigger than Boolossus. The roof began to cave in under the sheer weight of the Boo. The ghost turned around to face them and what they saw shocked them. This Boo was a giant version of the king! There seemed to be no other Boos around, but according to what the professor knew about Boos it was a safe guess that they were all right in front of him making up the new colossal body of the king. The things that UnderBoo was muttering earlier were all starting to make sense. _Crikey!_ How were they going to get out of this one?!


	14. Chapter 14

**I'm alive! I haven't posted a chapter in forever whoops. Don't worry, I fully intend to finish this story haha. Thank you guys for the follows and reviews so far :)**

 **Chapter 14:**

" _I warned you guys."_ UnderBoo said looking towards the others who were looking upwards in shock. Both of the other heroes appeared to be frozen on the spot. This was likely their first time dealing with anything like this; fighting giant Boos was more Luigi's "expertise" if he could even call it that.

UnderBoo shivered when he felt a large pair of eyes on him. He looked up to see the king eyeing him with a malevolent grin. It was at that moment UnderBoo regretted joining the two humans on the roof. He felt fear quickly seep through him. That's a look the smaller Boo never wished to see directed at himself. The stare down continued until his name being called snapped him out it. He turned to his left, the old man was desperately trying to get his attention.

The professor gave UnderBoo a quick look of concern before spewing frantic questions at him consisting of hows and whats and whys. Apparently, the old man thought that UnderBoo would know how to defeat the king. Unfortunately for them, he had no idea. He had always been a part of the giant Boo not going against it.

" _So you're telling me that you have no clue how to fight them?!"_

" _I'm sorry! I don't know."_

" _Think lad there must be something! Some weakness, anything that we can exploit to our advantage."_

" _Aaah I really don't know. Let me think!"_ I wish Luigi was here! What would he do?

UnderBoo took a second to think about it. What would Luigi do?

He briefly recalled something said earlier about the last time Luigi was at the mansion. It came from the group of Boos who like to collectively call themselves Boolossus. They didn't take losing to Luigi lightly. UnderBoo remembered a few of them complaining amongst themselves as they flew passed him in the hallway. UnderBoo didn't pick up everything they said, but he did get some complaints about being frozen and some over-enthusiastic vows to make Luigi pay this time.

Frozen?

UnderBoo wasn't around to see what happened to Boolossus and he wasn't sure how ice had contributed to their defeat. However maybe, just maybe that bit of information could help them now. Just how? There's no way they could freeze a Boo this huge whole. There's got to be some trick to it.

" _Guys we gotta move!"_ Mario shouted as the king moved to jump at them. Each of the colossal Boo's movements sent tremors through the building. The entire roof was shaking as they ran. Bits of tile were sliding loose down into the craters and forming holes left by the giant king. The chimneys and entrance to the elevator were also not spared in the wave of destruction, being knocked over and crushed in a single hit. It felt like they were trying to run through an earthquake. Everything was moving, making it hard to cover ground fast with falling debris slowing them down further. UnderBoo flew above the quaking roof unaffected by the destruction happening around them. However, Professor E. Gadd and Mario were falling behind.

UnderBoo turned around when he noticed that they were no longer behind him. They both had stopped when the professor stepped into an area of weak tile and got his leg stuck in the resulting hole. Mario was trying desperately to pull him out while Professor E. Gadd clenched his teeth in pain from the pressure put on his now injured ankle.

UnderBoo flew back and joined them. They didn't have time for this. The King was going to be on them any second. Turning to the side he could see the king rounding a corner to go make another pass at them. UnderBoo growled in frustration. He knew that the king was just toying with them right now. If King Boo really wanted to, he could have gotten them a few times over already. He knew his king well enough to know that he would toy with them long enough to give the heroes the run around before going in for the kill.

Peering through the floor, UnderBoo could see that the Professor's foot was lodged under some debris and his ankle was positioned at an awkward angle. The ankle didn't look broken, but it was easy to tell that it was causing the old man a good amount of pain. Despite Mario's efforts to pull the scientist free, they weren't getting progress quick enough.

" _Dammit!"_

The king was going to be on them and E. Gadd was a sitting duck. This was too perfect of an opportunity for King Boo to finish them off. UnderBoo had to make a decision. He knew that he could quickly pull the professor out using ghostly strength, but by doing so he would do the poor man's ankle some serious damage. He weighed his options, they were out of time and King Boo looked ready to deliver a deadly hit. UnderBoo knew he wouldn't die from this (heck could a ghost even die?), but he couldn't say the same for his human companions. UnderBoo would rather give the man a broken leg than let him die here.

The king moved towards them at a speed that could rival lightning. It was in that last second that UnderBoo made his decision. UnderBoo saw himself act in slow motion. He picked up Mario and E. Gadd and threw them out of the way, cringing when he heard E. Gadd's scream of pain. UnderBoo saw them roll a bit upon landing on the far side of the roof. Glad that he didn't accidentally toss them off the building, he smiled before the colossal Boo landed on him.

… **.**

Mario groaned from the impact on the roof. He landed on his shoulder causing him to wince in pain. There would likely be a large bruise forming there later. E. Gadd lay not too far from him staying very still as to not agitate his ankle. The old man's face looked pale and you could tell by the way he struggled to move to a sitting position that he wouldn't be walking anytime soon. Looking back at the scene before them, UnderBoo was nowhere to be seen. And was it him or did the giant Boo look slightly even larger than before?

Right now the heroes were on the right side of the roof next to a gaping hole that used to be one of the chimneys. The only thing that gave away what it used to be was the pile of broken bricks around it. Mario stood up carefully to avoid tripping on the large number of bricks scattered about. He tried to muster up the most fearsome face he could when King Boo turned to face them. The Boo only scoffed at his appearance. As much as Mario tried to look fierce, the overall picture looked rather sad. The king could see right through his facade and see the fear and fatigue underneath.

" _ **Well isn't this nice? You both looking worn and pathetic like you really are. I'd like to remember this look. I could save it in a painting… but I think I'll enjoy snuffing the life out of you more."**_

Not that he would ever admit it, but Mario started to shake a little.

" _You bastard!"_ the plumber hissed through clenched teeth.

" _ **It's a shame really. I expected more of a fight out of you. I could have been a quarter of the size I am now and we would still have the same result. I really overestimated you. How does it feel to be so weak, stupid, and pathetic that you couldn't even come close to saving your precious little brother from me?"**_

" _Who says I'm done fighting?"_

" _ **You really think you can beat me in your condition? Look at you, I could see how tired you are from a mile away. It sure must suck to be a human."**_

" _I'm still standing, aren't I? Bring it on, unless you're too chicken."_

" _ **Your ignorance continues to amaze me. I can beat you without even touching you."**_

The giant Boo jumped up and down once, sending an extra large tremor through the roof to prove his point. Mario fought to keep his balance, the intense shaking threatening to send him tumbling off the roof if he wasn't careful. In the chaos, Mario involuntarily stumbled backward until he felt the broken base of the chimney on the back of his knees. His lack of balance sent him tilting back and falling into the large hole that was formerly the location of the tall structure.

" _ **Whoops."**_

Mario fell down the chimney a few levels before landing on the solid floor with a loud smack. A few pieces of broken brick and debris followed him landing on his clothes and on the floor around him. Mario ignored the stinging pain in his limbs as he stood up and brushed the dust off his pants. A familiar voice made him halt mid-action.

" _Hey Bro!"_

Mario immediately turned to the source of the voice. His brother was across the room cornered (well as cornered as Luigi could be in his predicament) by a blue colored ghost. Luigi's flashlight was flickering, clearly running out of battery. Luigi looked at him expectantly.

" _A little help here."_

The red plumber jumped into action, capturing the ghost with his vacuum. Once the deed was done he enveloped his younger brother in a huge bear hug that threatened to squeeze the life out of him. Luigi hugged him back with just as much force. After a long moment, they separated. The reunion was bittersweet. They were glad to see each other again, but they were still in much danger.

" _Alright, Bro lets get you out of this thing."_

" _Be careful."_

Mario circled his arms around Luigi's chest and placed his feet on the sides of the painting frame. When he was sure he had a good grip on his brother, Mario began pulling upwards.

" _Luigi I think you need to lay off the mushrooms. You're really heavy."_

" _Like you could talk. I'm just really stuck. Pull harder."_

" _I'm trying! It's like you're stuck in concrete!"_

Mario adjusted his hold on Luigi, unknowingly he moved his foot forward onto the surface of the picture frame. He started pulling again; this time he felt movement.

" _I think it's working."_

" _Umm Mario? I don't think I'm moving."_

" _Yeah, you are. Hold on."_

" _Mario?"_

" _I got this!"_

Luigi looked down finally seeing the source of his apparent movement.

" _Mario you're an idiot."_ Mario stopped his pulling.

" _Hey, that's not how you talk to your older brother! You should be grateful that I'm helping you!"_

" _Do me a favor and look down."_ Mario looked downwards.

" _I don't see what's the problem… wait a minute. Oh crap!"_ Mario noticed that his left leg to just above the top of his shoe was now stuck in the painting.

" _You thought you were pulling me up, but you were really pulling yourself down."_ Luigi laughed a little.

" _I'm an idiot."_ Mario facepalmed


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15:**

Professor E. Gadd clung to the roof tiles as the king's tremor sent Mario down the chimney. His ankle hurt tremendously and the movement only agitated the injury more. After the shaking stopped, E. Gadd dragged himself away from the edge of the roof, breathing heavily as he did so. The king turned to him.

" _ **It's just you and me now Elvin. You look terrible. I might just have a shred of pity for you."**_

E. Gadd stopped crawling to catch his breath and lifted one hand to adjust his skewed glasses.

" _Well, what are you waiting for? Both you and I know that I can't go anywhere in this condition. You could easily just kill me right now and be done with it."_

The king let out a chuckle.

" _ **Shame I'd thought you'd know me better than this. There's really no point in killing you right now if no one's around to watch. If you haven't noticed, I like to make a grand exhibition of things. After all those years of studying my kind, you should have at least picked up on that."**_

" _For sixty years I have studied you and this is the first time I have seen you pull this kind of stunt."_

" _ **Really? Hmm, Maybe you're not old enough."**_

The king looked off to the side recalling a memory.

" _ **I remember when you first showed up in my woods. You were in your youth then. Very naive… you had more hair back then. My subjects and I watched you snoop around our woods trying to study us. I must admit, we made it a game to mess with your research and try to get you to leave. You're one stubborn man, I'll give you that. I recall my Boos showing off stuff they had stolen from your lab. Heck, I think we still have one of your journals in the study."**_

King Boo refocused his attention on the Professor.

" _ **If I would have known you would become a threat us back then, I would have gotten rid of you then and there. But alas, you can't change the past. Here's a question for you Elvin, in your research, have you ever found out what happens if you die in the mansion?"**_

E. Gadd thought over the question. There was a huge hole in his research when it came to information about the mansion itself.

" _I can't say that I do. The mansion has many qualities that I haven't yet been able to explain."_

King Boo looked at the large hole that Mario had fallen down a few minutes prior.

" _ **Since it looks like that sorry excuse of a plumber won't be back for a while, I suppose I'll tell you a bit about the place you're about to spend eternity in. If you die here, you will be bound to the mansion like many of the other ghosts here, stuck roaming the mansion's halls forever. Seems like the perfect ironic twist, the man who spent his life studying ghosts becoming one himself."**_

" _Is that why I have never seen the ghosts leave the mansion grounds? What about you and the other Boos? You guys come and go as you please. Are you bound to the mansion?"_

" _ **In a way yes, but in a different way. The mansion is more bound to us than we are to it. We own it."**_

" _How can that be? I thought the portrait ghosts created it."_

" _ **Ha! Those humanoid ghosts were lucky I let them stay. I freed them thinking we could have some fun company at the mansion and what do they do? They ignore us, coop themselves up in their rooms, and try to act as they would if they were still in their former lives. Some ghosts have trouble moving on and letting go. It's a shame really. They can't accept the fact that they are no longer human and it limits them and makes them weak. Ghosts like that are better off in their paintings. The mansion belongs to us Boos.**_

 _ **When we were trapped in paintings, the mansion disappeared correct?"**_

" _Yes, that is what happened, Why?"_

" _ **You see without us, the mansion will not exist. Why that is I can't remember. It happened so long ago the details escape me. However, I do know that wherever we go the mansion will follow."**_

" _That is why the mansion came back after you escaped. Why did the mansion show up here instead of the original location?"_

" _ **This is not the first time the mansion has switched locations and like I said the mansion follows us. I happen to like his part of the woods and it followed us here."**_

Professor E. Gadd looked at all the damage the roof had taken already. The roof looked like it could completely cave in if it took any more damage.

" _If the mansion is so special why are you destroying it?"_

" _ **I'm not."**_

" _What do you mean you're not? The roof is barely holding itself up. And you don't seem like the type to start making home repairs."_

" _ **Another fun fact about his place. You can destroy this building brick by brick, but as long as we're around it'll always come back."**_

" _Fascinating!"_ E. Gadd wished he had a notebook on him. This was some good research material. _"One question still plagues me. How did you escape?"_

" _ **Oh, wouldn't you like to know."**_

…

Mario was pulling on his leg trying to dislodge himself from the painting.

" _Ouch, this hurts! At this rate, it'll be easier cutting off my own leg."_

Luigi sighed at his brother's complaining. _"It's not that bad, at least you're stuck with me."_

" _That makes it worse! We're practically conjoined; what's going to happen when one of us needs to use the bathroom or something?"_

Luigi paused for a second while thinking about it. _"Mama Mia! You're right."_

Mario stomped with his one good foot. _"I'm about to try to break this damn frame."_

" _I'd rather you not do that. Half my body is at stake here!"_

Mario tugged at his leg again _"Argh! We don't have time for this. Who knows what could be happening to the professor on the roof right now."_

Mario dragged the frame and Luigi with him as he approached the opening to the chimney. He looked up into the opening. _"If we weren't stuck, we could try to jump back up to the roof."_

Luigi looked up the chimney as well. _"There is no way you would make it that high just jumping. I can jump higher than you and I know I wouldn't make that. We're going to have to go the other way."_ Luigi stated.

" _The other way? There's no way out but up."_

" _Ha, that's what you think. Do you have a Gameboy Horror?"_

Mario dug in his pockets and fished out the device. He then handed it to Luigi with a quizzical look on his face. Luigi smiled at his brother's confusion, it looks like the Professor didn't teach Mario everything.

" _Alright now move us towards that mirror in the back."_

" _Why?"_

" _I learned a few tricks on my way to save your sorry butt last time."_ Luigi pointed the Gameboy's camera at the mirror and pressed a button. Suddenly the scenery around them began to spin and blur. Mario shut his eyes to avoid getting dizzy. When he reopened them, they were no longer in the same room. They were now in the familiar setting of the foyer.

" _Woah. We can teleport?! Let's teleport to the roof."_ Mario gestured his hands to rush Luigi along.

" _Mario it doesn't work that way. We're going to have to go the long way if you want to get to the roof."_

Mario's impatient expression dropped and was replaced with one of dread _"Don't tell me that I'm going to have to drag you and this heavy thing around the entire mansion."_

" _Eh, that's pretty much what you need to do."_

" _Oh joy."_ Mario's tone dripping with sarcasm.

The Mario Bros made their way down the mansion's hallways following Luigi's directions on how to get upstairs. Mario's legs were killing him. If he thought dragging Luigi and the frame down the hallway with one leg was hard, dragging him up the stairs was an entirely different feat. It took them way longer than it should have and a lot of extra coaching from Luigi, but Mario finally got them upstairs to the second floor. He was panting and sweating from the exertion.

" _Only a couple more floors to go."_

" _Ugh don't remind me."_

By the time they reached the second set of stairs to reach the third floor, Luigi fully noticed the extent of the injuries his brother had and how he would favor one arm.

" _Mario, what happened to your arm?"_

" _Your annoying ghost friend threw me."_

" _Annoying ghost friend?... Do you mean UnderBoo? Why would he throw you?"_

Mario went stiff just now realizing that Luigi didn't know everything that was going on. He needed to tell Luigi everything so he could be caught up to speed. Mario spoke about the annoying Boo, the colossal king, and the now-injured Professor. He was talking quickly. Mario was unsure if he was making sense, but he continued his story anyways. By the end of his tale, Luigi had a contemplating look on his face.

" _I'm surprised King Boo is going for that approach. I thought for sure all that shaking was from him using Bowser's body again."_

Mario's jaw dropped. That was his response to all this?! Luigi seemed unphased by the situation! It made Mario think. What the heck happened that Luigi took this kind of news like it was normal? What kind of things did Luigi fight to save him last year? Mario was starting to regret not asking him that sooner. Was it anything like this?! If so, he needed to give his brother a lot more credit.

" _What have you seen Luigi?"_ Mario said accidentally voicing his previous thoughts.

" _What?"_

" _Erm.. Never mind! Do you have any ideas on how we can defeat him?"_

Luigi looked back on his memories of the mansion. If the king was big like Boolossus then defeating him should be pretty similar to that. Even if the Professor is injured, as long as they have two vacuums this could be doable.

" _I've got an idea but we're going to need a crap ton of ice."_

With that they continued their way upstairs. Luigi watched as Mario dragged them through the third floor. It was obvious that Mario was extremely tired. The only thing keeping him going was probably the adrenaline.

" _How are you holding up Bro?"_

Mario used his glove to wipe some sweat off his face. _"I can't wait for this to be over."_

" _Me too. The door to the balcony is that door at the end of the hallway. I want to use the statues out there to our advantage."_

Mario looked a little confused but nodded. _"As long as you know what you're doing Bro."_

Mario shakily opened the door to the balcony knowing once they stepped outside there was no going back.

This should go fine right?


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello! I'm back! Sorry, it took so long to update. Thank you all so much for the reviews an follows so far :)**

 **Chapter 16:**

Mario watched the door swing open in front of them. Out on the balcony were the unicorn statues that Luigi had described. Mario was no longer wearing the vacuum on his back. Luigi insisted on wearing it for what they were about to do. Mario didn't mind that much; he felt so much lighter without the weight of the machine. However now he had more weight to pull with his leg. He gulped as he stepped forward through the door pulling his brother with him.

 _Thunk!_

Mario stopped short and looked back to see that part of the frame was caught on the wooden doorframe. Luigi looked up at him sheepishly.

" _You need to get us unstuck Bro."_

Mario sighed _"Hold on. I got it."_

…...

Meanwhile on the roof…

Professor E. Gadd let out a huff. _"Oh come on! Tell me where the flaw is!"_

King Boo sighed, _**"Hey you're lucky I even told you there was a flaw in your machine."**_

" _No, now I need to know what it is. It needs to be fixed before the rest of my ghosts escape!"_

" _ **Not my problem."**_ The king grinned as his response angered the professor.

" _Grr, you insufferable Boo!"_

King Boo was about to add another quip to anger the professor further when they both heard the unmistakable squeak of a door opening somewhere nearby. Both king and professor remained quiet as the squeak was soon followed by two voices bickering.

" _Ouch! You didn't have to do that."_ The first voice definitely sounded like Luigi.

" _Hey what did you expect me to do? This thing is too wide for the doorway."_ And the second one was no doubt, Mario.

" _You could have tilted it like a normal human being so we fit through the door."_

" _Do you have any idea how much you weigh Bro? You would have crushed my fingers in the doorframe."_

" _Take that back. I'm not that heavy!"_

" _Make me."_

King Boo moved towards the noise and looked over the edge of the roof. Lo and behold there the two brothers were arguing away on the balcony. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that both of them were stuck partially in the painting frame. That threw the king for a loop. In all honesty, he wasn't expecting that. He knew that the two plumbers were idiots but he never thought that they were big enough idiots to manage this. He took a solid minute just staring at the scene in front of him. This was too much and the king let out a loud hearty genuine laugh. He felt himself tear up a little, this was funny. After King Boo had composed himself, he turned from the two brothers on the balcony to the old professor next to him. The professor looked up at him with a growing look of dread. The king let his default grin take over.

" _ **It's time."**_

The professor gasped: _"No!"_

King Boo then took an extra large jump and came back down.

The roof collapsed.

…...

The two brothers looked up to see the roof come down in a large cloud of dust and debris. They both shielded their heads as a ton of tiles and other objects came raining down on them. As soon as the hail of objects stopped, they looked up at the demolished roof. Luigi panicked, the professor was up there! The whole roof was gone and Professor E. Gadd was now nowhere to be seen; this could have killed him. Realization hit Luigi, the professor could be dead. He called out in hopes that the professor was alright.

" _Professor!...Professor!...PROFESSOR!"_

There was no response.

Luigi began to assume the worst and cried out in anguish. _"PROFESSOR!"_

Mario didn't know what to do. The professor couldn't be dead, could he? Mario looked at his younger bro. Tears were starting to form in Luigi's eyes. Mama mia what should he do? Mario was never good at dealing with crying people especially when the crying person was his own brother. Mario usually just let him be, usually, Luigi bounces back pretty quickly. Unfortunately, he knew this time that would not be the case. Mario did the only thing that came to his mind and tried to give his brother a hug. He failed due to their awkward positioning but the sentiment successfully got across.

The brotherly moment was swiftly interrupted by a tremor in the building. Immediately afterward it was followed by the reappearance of King Boo.

Luigi sniffed and then whispered to Mario. _"We're going through with the plan. Get us close to one of those statues."_

King Boo had a maniacal grin on his face as he burst out from the non-existent roof and landed in the center of the balcony. He looked at the two plumbers by one of the decorative unicorn statues while maintaining his grin.

" _ **This is the most fun I've had in a while. What do you say, boys, ready to give up?"**_

Mario grit his teeth and Luigi tightened his grip on the vacuum hose. Mario spoke for them both:

" _I think you already know our answer."_ Not in a million years would they ever surrender to this ghost.

" _ **I was hoping you would say that. I never imagined that I would be lucky enough to get both brothers in one painting. You boys really know how to make a ghost's day. All I have to do is grab you and shove you both into the painting. This couldn't be any easier!"**_

" _You'll have to catch us first,"_ said Luigi

" _ **Trust me, that won't be a problem."**_

Under Luigi's direction, Mario stayed as close to the unicorn statue as he could. King Boo jumped toward them. The king's extra colossal size made him less agile and unable to avoid the obstacle. According to plan, the king landed directly onto the spearing horn of the statue. Unfortunately, the weight of the giant Boo was too great and reduced the statue to ruble. However, the sharp point of the unicorn's horn did its job and burst the colossal Boo like a bubble. All the Boos inside lost their formation and were released out all over the balcony. Mario and Luigi lost count over how many Boos there were. They were everywhere! All the Boos began to attack, but Luigi with his expert vacuum skills wouldn't let the Boos get close to them. The ones who dared to get close enough were captured by Luigi and the powerful Poltergust 5000.

…...

UnderBoo felt confused and disoriented, but that's what happens when you get forcefully integrated into the collective conscience and physical body of the giant Boo. That honestly hurt like hell. But he wasn't in the giant Boo anymore was he? UnderBoo looked around and saw all his fellow Boos around him. So they broke formation? That's interesting. UnderBoo then saw Mario and Luigi on the other side of the balcony and that's when reality hit. He then shook away the disoriented feeling and rushed over to the pair of plumbers. When he got close to them, Luigi aimed the vacuum at him.

" _Wait it's me!"_ This felt familiar.

It took a second before looks of recognition crossed the brother's faces and then Luigi asked _"UnderBoo?"_

UnderBoo smiled _"Darn right it's me. I want to help you guys. What can I do?"_

" _Thank goodness. We need you to go look for the professor. He fell when the roof came down. He could be hurt or worse."_

" _Gotcha I'll look for your old man. Hey, Luigi no hard feelings about getting you in trouble right."_ The Boo looked truly sorry.

Luigi gave him a small smile _"Don't worry about it."_

With that UnderBoo gave the plumbers a nod and flew through the wall into the mansion. There was a huge gaping hole that went down through three whole levels of the mansion the first floor of the mansion was completely unrecognizable if was completely buried in a mountain of debris from the upper floors. He sure hoped that the old man wasn't buried under all that. Finding him was one thing, but getting him out would be a beyond difficult task. UnderBoo dived straight into the mountain of debris being able to just phase through all the junk in front of him. He flew around the junk pile unable to find the old man. UnderBoo was unsure if that was a good thing or not. He surfaced from the junk and looked around debating where to check next when he felt something fall from above and phase through his body. UnderBoo looked down at the object that just fell through him. It was an old, round, broken, pair of glasses. UnderBoo recognized the eyewear. He looked up and dangling two floors above him was the professor. UnderBoo let out a sigh of relief as he flew up to the old man.

The professor was dangling in mid-air held up only by the hose from the vacuum strapped to his back. The head of the vacuum hose was wedged in between two large wooden planks that were sticking out. The old man was clearly unconscious and had several bleeding cuts, but at least he was alive. UnderBoo whistled in amazement. The professor got incredibly lucky. If the vacuum hose hadn't gotten stuck, the old man would have surely fallen to his death.

UnderBoo picked up the professor, un-wedged the vacuum, almost dropped the old man in the process (but he won't tell the brothers that), and flew up through the top of the building to go meet up with the 'Mario brothers'.

…...

Luigi and Mario were now quickly shuffling their way to the other remaining unicorn statue. The Boos on the roof had re-convened into another giant Boo. This one was smaller than before, but it was still pretty huge.

The Boo then crushed the one remaining statue and popped again. Luigi once again made quick work out of the Boos that came near them until they regrouped. Now they were out of statues and there was nothing sharp around to use on the colossal Boo.

" _I don't suppose you have a sword on you."_ Mario half-joked.

" _Mario you know this isn't that kind of game."_


	17. Chapter 17

**Haven't updated this in a while whoops. Thank you all so much for the favorites and the comments so far. Those really make my day** **.**

 **Chapter 17:**

Luigi desperately looked around their surroundings. There had to be something, anything they could use against the giant Boo. Unfortunately, nothing around was big enough or sharp enough to even think of using to fight. They could throw a flower pot at the Boo, but he doubted that would do anything. After this whole ordeal, this couldn't be the end right? As much as he loved his brother, spending an eternity trapped in a painting with him seemed less than ideal.

Luigi suddenly felt Mario clutch his arm and shake him a little. He turned to his older brother who had a tired yet determined look on his face.

" _I-I got it!"_ Mario whispered.

" _What?"_

" _We need a star."_

" _A star?"_

" _You know, invincibility star. That can kill this thing!"_

A glimmer of hope appeared in Luigi's eyes. _"How are we supposed to get one?"_

At that moment a new voice joined the conversation. _"There's no time to talk! We gotta go!"_ Both brothers turned to see that UnderBoo with the professor in tow had appeared by their side. UnderBoo grabbed the painting frame with both brothers attached and started flying as fast as he could away from the mansion and towards the woods.

Mario who was now dangling upside down in a very uncomfortable position, looked towards the woods in front of them. They were flying in the wrong direction. The car was the other way.

" _Circle back. We need to get the car."_

UnderBoo quickly complied, because going as fast as he could while carrying three humans and that god awful frame was very tiring. As they crossed the clearing again, they heard a loud crash. They all risked a glance behind them and saw that the king had jumped off the balcony and was now quickly pursuing them.

UnderBoo followed Mario's directions to the car. After finding the vehicle hidden amongst the dead foliage, he dropped the limp professor in the back seat and then awkwardly dropped the painting frame with the brothers into the driver's seat. Both Mario and Luigi gave him a very confused look. UnderBoo let out a nervous laugh and responded: _"I don't know how to drive."_

With that Mario and Luigi looked at each other contemplating what they should do. Luigi was in better position to work the steering wheel, but he didn't have use of his legs to work the pedals. Mario, on the other hand, had one usable leg, so they shifted over so Mario could bend and reach the floor petals while Luigi took the wheel. The position was far from comfortable, but they didn't have time to sit and work it out. As soon as they started the car, a wave of trees came crashing down behind them. That was their cue to leave.

The car sped off into the woods.

Luigi looked at the trees around them with a concerned expression _"Mario you need to give me directions. I don't know where we're going."_

" _We're heading to my house! That's where I have an extra star."_

" _And in which direction is that?"_

Mario then remembered that Luigi has no idea where they are. Of course, he wouldn't, the king kidnapped him, so they were in the middle of nowhere for all Luigi knew.

" _We're in the Southern Boo Woods once you hit the highway turn left. That will take us back Northward towards town."_

Luigi drove as fast as he could while avoiding the trees however the sounds of trees crashing down was getting closer. They couldn't see the king through the thickness of the forest, but they were sure that he was gaining on them.

" _Look out!"_ UnderBoo shouted.

An extra tall tree came crashing down at an angle directly in the line of the path of the car. Both Mario and Luigi had to work fast to successfully swerve the car out of the way.

The treetop hit a large log and split off from the rest of the trunk with a loud cracking sound. The tree trunk was left with one broken, jagged, splintering edge.

Luigi saw the broken tree and was immediately struck by an idea. He was also struck by Mario's hand because he should be watching what was in front of them and not looking backward.

Luigi then told UnderBoo to go back and lift the tree up with the jagged end pointing towards the sky. The tree wasn't as sharp as the unicorn statue horns, but it was sharp enough to do the job. The brothers turned the car around and met UnderBoo by the tree.

UnderBoo lifted the tree with a bit of difficulty, but he was able to do it in time for the king to appear through the trees and luckily spear himself on the jagged tree trunk.

The giant Boo once again popped and released several smaller Boos.

There weren't that many of them left. Luigi was sure he could capture most of them, if not all of them this round with the vacuum. He quickly began capturing Boos like his life depended on it (which technically it did). He struggled to catch a few elusive stragglers, but he was happy to say that he finally got the king alone. However, that did not mean the problem was solved, the king himself was still a very large and dangerous Boo. Luigi attempted to use the vacuum to capture the king, but when he did so he came up with a useless buzzing sound from the machine. He had been dreading that happening. That sound could only mean the vacuum was full and would be practically useless until they could empty it in the lab. Luigi sighed, they were not out of the woods yet, metaphorically and literally.

Mario slammed his foot on the gas and they sped off away from the king, kicking up dirt and several leaves as the wheels spun. Now the heroes had to floor it. The king was no longer weighed down by the other Boos and could easily catch up to them by flying through the trees. Now it was Luigi's job to get them out of there without crashing. He gripped the steering wheel with both hands as he made split-second maneuvers around the trees that seemed to be blurring past them at this point. Yet at the dangerous speed they were going at, they felt the hairs on the back of their necks stand up and a cold presence directly behind them. Mario risked a glance backward and saw the king was right there and a hair away from grabbing onto the car and them with it. The red plumber then warned his brother before picking up the speed even higher.

There was a break in the trees up ahead and Luigi relaxed a tiny bit. That meant the road was just up ahead. At a breakneck speed, he turned the car onto the road and started driving in the direction towards town. Here on the straightaway, they were able to put some distance in between the car and the dangerous monarch behind them.

A groan was heard from the back seat. Mario turned his head to check on the professor while UnderBoo took the liberty of poking the old man to get a response. After a few seconds, the Professor's eyes flickered open.

" _Welcome back to the world of the living… mostly."_ Mario greeted, unsure if the ghosts around them counted as living or not.

" _How are you feeling Professo_ r?" Luigi called back while not taking his eyes off the road.

" _Could be better."_ The professor croaked out barely audible. The professor's eyes quivered back and forth watching the sky and treetops zoom past them. The old man attempted to sit up; he got about halfway into a sitting position before he gasped in pain and laid back down.

" _Yeah, I wouldn't move if I were you."_ UnderBoo advised a tad bit too late.

" _What's going on_?" The Professor asked, wanting to be caught up to speed on the situation.

" _I have a plan. We're heading back to my place to get a star to use on that Boo. That will take him down for sure. I know it!"_ Mario informed showing a bit of enthusiasm.

" _Speaking of which, how are we doing back there, Bro?"_ Luigi asked.

Mario looked to check the distance between them and the king chasing them. The king was much closer than before. Mario muttered a _"mama mia"_ under his breath before announcing _"He's gaining on us!"_

" _Shoot!"_ Luigi responded. Luigi continued watching the road ahead of them. He could make out familiar buildings and the outline of Peach's castle up ahead. They were approaching the town and would be at their destination in a few more miles or so. _"At this rate, he'll catch us before we get there. We need to slow him down if we can."_

" _With what? It's not like we can trip him or anything!"_ Mario exclaimed.

The Professor's eyes widened with that statement. _"Maybe we can."_ He said quietly.

The Professor shifted a bit and told Mario to open the car's glove compartment. Mario did as he was told and opened it. Inside he found...

" _What the? Are these grenades?!"_

Luigi took a glance at what his brother was holding, recognizing the devices. _"They're ice bombs. Or they're supposed to be. Those are prototypes."_ Luigi answered his Bro. He then called out to the professor _"Are you sure you want us to use these? We haven't even officially tested those ones yet. Also, why are they in the car?!"_

" _Yes, I'm sure. And I was planning to drive to an isolated area to test them before this whole fiasco started. Now would be the perfect time to use them."_

Mario then threw the one he was holding over his head and at King Boo. The device hit the ground then bounced and rolled for a bit. UnderBoo and Mario watched it for a while. The device never went off.

" _It's a dud,"_ UnderBoo called to Luigi.

Mario threw another one and got the same result.

Luigi sighed and made Mario grab the wheel before reaching for one of the ice bombs himself. Luigi made sure to properly pull out the pin before throwing it backward over his shoulder at the king. The device hit the ground and within a second a wave of ice came shooting out. To their luck, the ice temporarily trapped the king against the road. Luigi looked back to look at the king and his handiwork. The look Luigi gave the king at that moment was one so dark and menacing, everyone in the car could only describe it as a 'death stare'. Luigi then turned forwards to retake the wheel, facial expression now normal again.

" _That will buy us hopefully at least an extra minute."_ Luigi said as he watched the buildings grow closer. He wasn't sure if the ice would even hold that long. Ice on the hot pavement would not last long at all.

Mario kept flooring the gas pedal. They were going far faster than any rational person should drive, but this case was an exception. However, once they hit the town limits they would have to actually drive the speed limit. He didn't want any police Toads getting involved in this.

Within a few minutes, they hit the edge of town. They drove their way through the quiet residential area and stopped at a red light.

" _Hey it's nice you want to follow the laws and all, but I see King Boo back there and I'm pretty sure he sees us right now."_ UnderBoo stated.

The brothers gave each other a look. The light then turned green, but as they were about to go a crossing guard stopped them and started directing a long line of young Toads across the street. The kids were all wearing backpacks and had probably had just gotten out of school. One of the kids tripped and dropped their bag of pencils. She stopped and started picking up each of her fallen writing utensils one by one. Another kid stopped to help and in the process accidentally dropped some of their books on the ground.

" _Oh come on! We don't have time for this."_ The Boo in the car fumed.

Everyone in the car squirmed impatiently. They needed to move but they sure as hell didn't want to run anybody over either. UnderBoo got out of the car, picked up the kids and their stuff and rushed them out of the street. The brothers then immediately drove through the intersection and continued on the route. The crossing guard gave them a weird look but didn't say anything. UnderBoo caught up to the car a second or two later.

Within a few more seconds they all heard some alarmed shouts coming from behind them. That could only mean that the king was in the town and close behind them.

" _Damn it"_ Mario growled before speeding up the car faster than he should in the area.

" _Hang on guys, we're almost there."_ Luigi could see part of the red roof of Mario's house from where they were.

Soon enough they pulled up in front of the house.

As they attempted to get out of the car, they heard a crash and that was all the warning they got before the car disappeared from underneath them. King Boo had slammed into the side of the car and sent it rolling onto the lawn. Everyone in the car went flying out of the vehicle and had a rough impact on the ground.

Mario and Luigi landed front first with the frame landing on top of them. The impact pushed both of them further into the painting. From their position on the ground, they could see the professor laying in the grass with UnderBoo hovering next to him

Suddenly the painting frame with both brothers got yanked off the ground. They then came face to face with King Boo.

 **"** _ **Got you."**_ King Boo said with an amused expression on his face. _**"I must say, you two really gave me the runaround."**_

Mario tried to use his free leg to kick King Boo in the face. The king caught his leg and shoved it into the painting. King Boo then pointed to Luigi and the vacuum on his back.

" _ **I'm going to need that from you."**_

Luigi tightened his grip on the straps of the machine. _"There's no way I'd ever hand it over to the likes of you."_

The king sighed. _**"Always so difficult. So be it."**_

The king then grabbed the vacuum and started trying to pry it off the plumber's back. Luigi hissed in pain, the pulling was making the straps dig painfully into his skin.

Meanwhile, on the lawn, UnderBoo picked up the professor and headed for the front door of the house. The door was left unlocked because of Mario's haste to leave when the professor first visited him. Mario saw what they were doing and shouted _"It's in the kitchen! GO!"_

UnderBoo and the Professor rushed inside the house.

Luigi felt the straps on his shoulders begin to rip. Immediately after, the straps gave way and the vacuum came free from Luigi's back. In a desperate attempt to keep the king from taking the machine, Luigi and Mario clutched the hose of the vacuum. They then engaged in a pathetic game of tug of war which they ended up losing pretty quickly. King Boo ripped the vacuum from their grip and then dropped the machine on the lawn.

" _ **Game's over boys."**_


	18. Chapter 18

**Surprise! I'm alive and back to finish the story. Sorry I took forever and a day to update.**

 **Chapter 18:**

UnderBoo and the professor rushed through Mario's living room and dashed over the counter into the connecting kitchen. UnderBoo dropped the professor in a chair by the wooden kitchen table and started searching. They frantically searched the kitchen not finding anything resembling the star they were looking for. UnderBoo started opening up all the cabinets and drawers not caring if he knocked over food cans and boxes in his haste. Starting to get desperate, he checked inside the refrigerator, oven, and even under the sink.

" _Are you sure he said kitchen?"_ the Boo questioned.

" _Pretty sure. Even though a kitchen seems like an odd place for it."_

UngerBoo groaned in frustration after checking the same cabinet for the third time.

" _It shouldn't be that hard to find. The star should be giving off light."_

They both turned when they heard a shout from outside. The noise clearly belonged to one of the brothers. They looked through the window just in time to see KingBoo fully dunk Mario into the painting.

In a panic, UnderBoo rushed back into the kitchen and started tearing the room apart looking for the star. Unable to move around freely in his current condition, the professor surveyed the room from his spot in the chair. While stretching his neck, he looked straight up and that's when he saw it. The star was suspended in the middle of the light fixture on the ceiling. The star sat in a glass sphere in the center of a strange but unique looking ceiling fan. E. Gadd shouted UnderBoo's name and pointed upwards at the fixture, catching the Boo's attention just in time as he was about to flip over the fridge.

UnderBoo flew up to the fan and peered at the star in the center. He swung a fist at the glass sphere, but before he made contact with the glass, he stopped and retracted his arm. UnderBoo started eyeing the star wearily.

" _what's the matter lad? We need to grab that star and use it pronto!"_

UnderBoo looked down at the professor. E. Gadd took one look at his expression and immediately knew what was up. The poor ghost had uncertainty written all over his face.

" _I'm sorry old man, but you're going to have to be the one to take the star."_

E. Gadd was laced with confusion. _"You're right next to it. Just grab it. I'm in no condition to attempt to get up there myself."_

" _You don't understand. You may not be mobile enough to grab it, but if I touch that star it'll kill me instantly!"_

The professor let out a sigh knowing where the Boo was coming from. _"Any chance you can give me a lift up there then?"_

UnderBoo still looked hesitant. _"I can lift you, but if I'm still holding you when you touch the star, I'm still done for."_

The professor adjusted his glasses and scratched his head. _"What if you can break the glass directly above me."_

" _I'm not sure you'd want to sit in the middle of a downpour of broken glass. You're already in some pretty rough shape there old man."_

The Professor waved him off. _"After all we've been through so far, a little glass is nothing. Here, grab a chair and use it to break the star free."_

" _If you say so…"_

UnderBoo lifted the professor out of the chair and placed him on the floor directly under the ceiling fan. UnderBoo couldn't help but feel guilty when he heard the professor hiss in pain as he placed him on the tile floor. UnderBoo then grabbed the chair that the professor was previously sitting in and poised to strike the fan with it. Professor E. Gadd shielded his face with his hands before nodding at the Boo above him. UnderBoo took the chair and hit the glass center of the fan as hard as he could. The chair snapped in half as it shattered the glass dome. Shards of glass came raining down on the professor, adding to his already numerous cuts on his skin and getting stuck in his lab coat.

Professor E. Gadd peeked through his hands as the star finally fell out of its fixture in the fan. He could see the bright object coming towards him. The professor took one of his hands and reached upwards toward the falling star. The invincibility star came into contact with his hand and he immediately felt a wave of energy wash over him. The pain from all his injuries vanished in an instant, his bones healed, and he felt stronger than ever. E. Gadd was unsure if he had ever felt this good. He stood up from his position on the floor, vaguely aware of his body flashing different colors and a strange song playing in his ears. He ran through the kitchen and out the front door towards the commotion on the front lawn.

…..

King Boo now held Luigi by the throat reveling in the sight of the green plumber struggling to breathe. Luigi desperately clawed at the ghostly appendage around his neck to no avail. The king smiled as Luigi gasped and tried to choke out a sentence.

" _Y-you won't... w-win you know."_

King Boo sighed _**"You boys really don't know when to quit, do you? That's what makes you both so annoying."**_

Luigi let out a wheeze in response.

" _ **Let's end this shall we."**_

Luigi weakly shook his head as King Boo adjusted his grip. The king gave the plumber one last maniacal grin before plunging him into the painting. The king watched as Luigi turned completely into oil paint and joined his brother. Within the painting, he saw Luigi hold a hand to his throat coughing while Mario checked to see if he was alright.

Satisfied, King Boo picked up the painting and the vacuum on the lawn preparing to fly back to the woods. Suddenly, a flashing light charged out of the front door of the house. Looking closer, the king realized that the bright being was Professor E. Gadd. The old man was running full speed toward him with a look of pure fury on his face. As E. Gadd neared him, King Boo heard music that no Boo ever wants to hear...the deadly _but catchy_ invincibility song.

The king ascended to get out of the old man's reach. There was no way the short old man could reach him in the air. E. Gadd gave the Boo an annoyed look aware of the Boo's attempt at escape. The professor then pushed his glasses upwards on his face and put the vacuum on his back into a powerful reverse. The exhaust from the vacuum propelled the small man into the air. Acting as an improvised jetpack, the vacuum launched E. Gadd through the air and with the right angling, right into the king. King Boo's eyes widened upon impact. The King's mouth then opened in surprise before vanishing with a poof into nothing.

The vacuum and painting that were previously held by the king went plummeting to the ground. A distinct 'oof' could be heard from the brothers as their painting hit the dirt. The vacuum rolled onto the lawn after bouncing off the sidewalk. A third thud could be heard as something shiny landed in the grass.

E. Gadd landed gracefully on the ground. The bright colors encompassing his body began to fade and he returned to his normal state. The old man stretched and held his arms out in front of him as he inspected his body. He was impressed to say the least that his wounds were gone. He felt around his ankle. The area felt sturdy without the slightest indication of the previous break. Satisfied with the state of his condition, he walked over to the painting on the ground and flipped it over. The brothers inside the painting looked up through the surface at him in relief. They looked dizzy from being jostled around, but otherwise not too injured.

UnderBoo appeared next to him. _"So now what?"_

" _Now-"_ E. Gadd huffed while lifting the frame _"We bring them back to the lab and use the Ghost Portrificationizer."_

UnderBoo flew over to the flipped car and righted it before coming back and helping the professor with the frame. They loaded the trapped brothers into the back seat. E. Gadd sat in front and UnderBoo hovered in the passenger seat. They drove off towards the lab no longer in a rush. Both the professor and the Boo smiled as the heard the brothers bickering in the back seat. The painting muffled some of their words, but they were able to piece together that they were arguing over personal space. Apparently, the inside of the painting was a lot less spacious than it looked. And UnderBoo wasn't sure if he heard correctly, but he thought he heard one of the brothers complaining that they needed to use the bathroom too.

Soon enough they arrived at the professor's lab. The rest of the process was simple enough; the professor and UnderBoo unloaded the painting from the car and transported it downstairs. The professor loaded the painting into the Ghost Portrificationizer and ran the machine in reverse. They both watched as Mario and Luigi got tossed around the inside of the machine and eventually ejected from a large ventilation hole.

" _Mama mia. Man, that hurt.''_ Luigi stated as he got up while holding his head.

" _You can say that again. That process feels even worse with two people."_ Mario said as he leaned backward and cracked the bones in his back.

The professor smiled and walked over to them. _"Good to have you both back."_

Luigi ran over to the old man and enveloped him in a tight hug. _"I'm so glad you're alright! You really scared me back there."_ The plumber almost sobbed.

Professor E. Gadd patted him on the back. _"No need to squeeze me to death now lad. It's good to see you too, albeit this isn't how I pictured us spending the weekend."_

" _Haha me too. It's not every day you get captured."_ Luigi answered while mildly embarrassed.

" _It is if you're Peach."_ Mario mumbled quietly to himself.

Everyone managed to hear him anyways and turned to give Mario a look. No one said anything. The red plumber wasn't wrong though, they concluded.

" _Oh Bro, this is yours."_ Mario pulled the green hat out of his pocket and handed to his brother.

Luigi shook it off before placing it on his head. He was glad to have his hat back. His head had felt empty without it. It was the Boo's fault he lost it in the first place. Speaking of Boo's, the corner has been unusually quiet in the past few minutes. Luigi looked around the room, UnderBoo was nowhere in sight.

" _Where did UnderBoo go?"_ Luigi asked.

Mario and E. Gadd looked around the room just now noticing the lack of input from the Boo. Mario stepped forward to go walk around the room when his shoe got caught on something. Mario comically toppled to the floor. He then oriented himself and looked at his shoes. He saw that his shoelaces from both shoes were tied together in several knots.

Immediately after, they all heard the Boo laugh and the signature 'pop' sound of the Boo leaving the room.

Mario sat on the floor untangling the wad of shoelaces. _"I'm going to kill that Boo."_

Luigi and the professor laughed it off. After all that had happened, they needed a bit of comic relief. After Mario had cooled down, they sat around the lab swapping stories and recuperating.

UnderBoo left the lab after that. Where he went, Luigi wasn't sure, but he knew that it wasn't going to be the last they'll see of the Boo.

Luigi looked between his brother and his mentor with a smile on his face. It was good to be home.

…..

UnderBoo wove his way through the streets of the town toward Mario's house. He wasn't heading there to visit. No, he was looking for something. Upon reaching the bright red house, the Boo flew around the lawn until he found the object he was looking for….Luigi's vacuum. The machine sat on the lawn peacefully, temporarily forgotten by both its creator and its wielder.

UnderBoo grabbed the machine by one of it's broken straps and picked it up. As he did that, something shiny in the grass caught his eye. The Boo put the vacuum down and flew towards the shiny object. He reached into the grass and picked it up. UnderBoo's eyes widened, he was holding the king's crown. He looked at his barely visible reflection in the large ruby. The king was gone and he had the crown. Of course, King Boo was not permanently gone. They are ghosts. You can't kill what's already dead. It may take a long time, but he will come back eventually. UnderBoo thought about what this meant for him.

With that in mind, UnderBoo took the crown and placed it on top of his own head.

UnderBoo then picked up the vacuum again. It was about time he freed everyone. UnderBoo grabbed the vacuum's tank and punctured it. Spirits came pouring out of the machine in a whirlwind and before he knew it, the lawn was filled with Boos. They all looked to the one who freed them. After being informed about what happened, the Boos accepted the change in power.

UnderBoo stood in the center of the crowd of Boos bowing to him. For now at least, he was the new king.


	19. Chapter 19

**Epilogue:**

One week later:

It was midnight at Luigi's house. Luigi was sleeping peacefully in his bed when a round shadow entered through his window. The figure floated through the room and hovered over the bed. The floating figure wore a crown and carried a box with him. The ghost dropped the box on Luigi's sleeping form and vanished from the room.

Luigi woke with a start. Having something land on you in your sleep was not a pleasant wake-up call. He got up out of bed and turned on the lights. He then walked back to the bed and inspected the box resting on his sheets. The box looked like your standard postage box, but it had no labels on it indicating who it was from. Curious, Luigi opened the box. What he saw inside made him drop the box entirely and spill its contents all over the floor.

All over the floor… mustaches, mustaches everywhere. And by the looks of it, they were all his!

Perturbed by the uncomfortable amount of facial hair, Luigi backed up. His foot brushed up against something that wasn't hair. He picked it up and inspected it. It was a letter addressed to him. He opened it up and read it.

' _I guess I can say you found yourself in a hairy situation hehehe…'_

From the bad pun alone, Luigi already knew that a Boo wrote this. He continued reading.

' _Since I'm king now, I can do what I want. The mansion is rebuilt in woods again. Feel free to visit us anytime. I promise we won't drop you out of the sky again...probably. I returned your mustaches. I'm not sure why you have so many, but I'm not going to question it. Say hi to the old man and your douchebag brother for me._

 _P.S. Since I can do what I want, I'm going to break the fourth wall here and thank our wonderful readers for sticking with us until the end. I hope you enjoyed the story!'_

-UnderBoo

Luigi put down the letter. The second half of it confused him, but he won't ask about it. Learning that UnderBoo was king now was a shocker. The Boo seemed a little immature for the job, but as long as it meant the Boos wouldn't be an enemy, Luigi was happy. As for the mustaches, he had no clue what to do with them. Cleaning them up was a must though. Luigi placed all the mustaches back into the box and decided that he'd deal with it in the morning. Luigi then turned off the lights and went back to bed. He had a small smile on his face, for now everything would be alright.

 **-The End-**


End file.
